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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015880">The Collector</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harthad/pseuds/Harthad'>Harthad</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Curator [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DCU, Doctor Who (2005), Stargirl (TV 2020), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Evil Plans, Gen, Kidnapped Barry Allen, Kidnapping, Multiple Crossovers, Mystery, Poison, Psychological Trauma, Time Travel, Torture, and so is the woolly mammoth, the gang's back y'all</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:14:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harthad/pseuds/Harthad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to The Curator! Elliott Pax is back, and he has only one goal in mind: revenge on Barry Allen. Can Team Flash, Supergirl, the JSA, and friends unite in time to save him? Why isn't the Doctor picking up their calls? Has Pat really forbidden Courtney from helping this time? Will Ralph overcome his fear of woolly mammoths? What really happened to the alien Elliott found in the woods, and where is it now? Or have we gotten this all wrong, and is Barry the true kidnapper here? Only one way to find out!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barry Allen/Iris West</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Curator [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Normal Days Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>thank you all for your comments &amp; support on the curator, really appreciate it! hope you enjoy the sequel, and i'd love it if you commented your thoughts along the way! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>CENTRAL CITY</p><p> </p><p>PRESENT DAY</p><p> </p><p>“Got a bank robbery up on 53<sup>rd</sup> and North, Barry! You –”</p><p> </p><p>“Already there, Cisco,” Barry practically grinned into his comms set. He skidded into the bank’s marble floors, grabbing each robber and tossing them outside on the curb. After a month, it felt so good to be back in action, just taking names and fighting crime. Elliott and the Museum had been but a blip on the radar six months ago, some episodic plot that Barry and all the rest of Team Flash were happy to put behind them. They needed a fresh start, a new season to solve crimes and protect Central City from harm. Sure, Kara and Alex sometimes dropped in more often than usual, just to say hi and ask how things were going. Maybe Felicity had gotten wind of the whole kidnapping thing and had religiously knocked on the door of the West-Allen’s apartment for seven days in a row with tea and comfort food and whatever else she thought would help. And maybe Team Flash used the Barry-O-Tron to scan Barry’s bloodstream for any lingering traces of Elliott’s drugs and cocktails every once in a while, just to make sure everything was clear. But that didn’t change the fact that Barry felt good again. He felt good about himself, about him and Iris, about life. Running made him happy, so he was sure to run basically all the time.</p><p> </p><p>And if he woke up in the middle of the night once or twice screaming from a nightmare, or needing to check the doors and windows were all locked because he was afraid someone – Elliott – might’ve come in while he was sleeping, then no one mentioned it. Barry tried to forget about it. Maybe that wasn’t the best course of action – maybe he should be trying harder in therapy. But when he was running, it was easy to think that nothing else mattered. Right now, nothing else mattered except to catch the bad guys. He tossed the last one out on the street, and did one last lap around the bank to make sure every person was okay, and that no one had been harmed. Nice and simple. Except –</p><p> </p><p>Barry froze in the center of the room, the rest of the world stopped around him. He stared at a little red-headed boy, his face turned away from him. Barry ran to the other side, staring down. Was it Elliott? Was this bank robbery something more? Could he be back and plotting again, here with another grand scheme to kidnap and drain him until he was nothing –</p><p> </p><p>“Barry?” Cisco said on the other end of his comms. “Barry, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry put a hand to his ear, turning away from the little kid. It wasn’t Elliott at all.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he said thickly, and ran out of the bank without another glance. “Yeah, I’m here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” sighed Cisco, the noise rattling over the speakers. “Because you need to take a look at something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Where?” Barry asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Central City Museum,” Cisco said. “They put a new exhibit up yesterday, and...”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m on it,” Barry said, not giving Cisco a chance to complete his sentence. If he had, Barry felt like he wouldn’t be able to visit. Wouldn’t be able to check out whatever his best friend was so worried about. He hadn’t stepped inside any sort of museum in months, and he knew it was silly. Who has a fear of museums anyways? Apparently the Flash did. He ran there in seconds, taking a deep breath and running in and out as fast as he could go. But there was nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“Cisco,” he said into his comms again, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I didn’t see anything.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just – slow down this time, okay?” Cisco said. He sounded like he was speaking into his hands. “First floor, right in the entrance. Can’t miss it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Look, why don’t you just tell me –”</p><p> </p><p>“Central City Museum just received the donation of a Woolly Mammoth in her prime, Barry,” Iris’ voice floated over instead of Cisco’s. Barry froze, rooted to the sidewalk. Then he ran back to STAR Labs, changed out of his super-suit, and ran back to the museum in normal civilian clothes. He took the stairs two at a time, lingering on the threshold of the great glass doors. Barry entered, refusing to give himself time to think about what lay in store on the other side.</p><p> </p><p>Barry stared up at a great, lifelike statue of a woolly mammoth greeting him in the foyer. Oblivious children and adults of all ages streamed through around him, ignoring the sight that had Barry immobile with fear. Only he knew the truth behind this donation. Only he knew this was a real woolly mammoth on display.</p><p> </p><p>And only he knew why.</p><p> </p><p>His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Cisco calling. Barry put it up to his ear.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry –”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” he said, not wavering from his spot on the floor. “I know. He’s back. Elliott’s using Woolly as bait.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>STAR LABS</p><p> </p><p>LESS THAN A SECOND LATER</p><p> </p><p>“You are not going in there alone, Barry, I don’t care what –”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the only way we’ll be able to learn what he wants, Iris –”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, no, she’s right, it’s either all of us, or not at all –”</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t just let him keep Woolly there forever –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, he’s a child now! A child! How could Elliott Pax possibly have gotten a woolly mammoth –”</p><p> </p><p>“Personally I’m fine if she stays there, anyone else scared of giant elephants? No? Just me? Okay –”</p><p> </p><p>“Guys!” Caitlin yelled as she entered the room. Everyone stopped yelling to look at her, each one more guilty than the last. Caitlin did a double take, putting her hands up in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“What is going on here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Barry said, out of pure instinct. Cisco blew out air from his cheeks, clenching his hands in the air like he wanted to choke someone.</p><p> </p><p>“What is happening, Caitlin, is that Elliott Pax is back and Barry is refusing to meet him without backup,” he said. Barry buried his head in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s me or you again, I know it –”</p><p> </p><p>“There won’t be a ‘you’ if we don’t go with you, Barry!” Iris insisted.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, Elliott’s back?” Caitlin asked. “His parents moved him to the Midwest. We got the confirmation a week ago –”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, he’s back,” Ralph interjected. “He put up some woolly mammoth in the Central City Museum, and it’s apparently the same woolly mammoth that was in the Museum of the Worlds –”</p><p> </p><p>“The one that helped Barry escape,” Iris said, putting her hand on her husband’s arm.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the same one, I know it is,” Barry said. “Why else would it appear in the museum? Would another supervillain just happen to have the same calling card as Elliott?”</p><p> </p><p>“Could be possible,” Ralph shrugged. “A villain who knows you, maybe. Your weaknesses, your fears, where to find a woolly mammoth –”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Caitlin interrupted again. “We just need to calm down, and think things through. Cisco, you call Kara and Alex, Iris can get the Doctor on the line and through to the JSA. Ralph, find Nash, and get Camilla and Allegra. Barry – Barry Allen, stay where you are!”</p><p> </p><p>Barry froze in the doorway as everyone turned to look at him. He slowly turned around, shamefaced.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to get yourself kidnapped again?” Caitlin demanded.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the last thing I want –”</p><p> </p><p>“Then you’re going to stay here until we get a full team together,” Caitlin continued. “I don’t care if you’re trying to do what you always do and make a noble sacrifice for the rest of us, okay? That is not what we do around here anymore. Not after it nearly cost you your life.”</p><p> </p><p>“Caitlin –”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Caitlin said immediately. “Even think about running out of here, Barry, and we will put you in the containment cell. Or the chess room. Either one has the new power-dampening cells and both are extremely warm.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s telling the truth,” Cisco said. “Haven’t quite figured out the heating in the new rooms yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to figure this out,” Iris said, going over to her husband once more and taking his hand. “Barry, I promise. No one will get hurt if we come up with a solid plan and a solid line of defense. Elliott is in our home court now. We have the advantage.”</p><p> </p><p>“Since when did you use basketball metaphors?” Barry asked, trying to smile. Iris raised her eyebrows.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you listen to a word I said?”</p><p> </p><p>“Make a plan, figure this out,” Barry said, smiling thinly. “I heard you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Iris rolled her eyes, and kissed him on the cheek. “I mean it, Bar.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did someone call for backup?” Kara asked from behind them, flying down the hallway with Clark right behind her. They both landed in the center of the room, hands on hips heroically.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you – do you always do that?” Ralph asked quizzically. Clark shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“Force of habit,” he said. “So – Elliott’s back in town?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s a woolly mammoth at Central City Museum, so I’d say yeah,” Barry said. Kara eyed him, squinting just a little. Barry made a face, twisting away.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you seriously x-raying me right now?”</p><p> </p><p>“First of all, x-raying isn’t a word,” Kara said. “Second of all, yes, I am. Have you used the Barry-O-Tron lately?”</p><p> </p><p>“Last week,” said Cisco. “Nothing of the Museum or Elliott remains.” He paused, thinking it over. “Ew, Elliott particles. Gross.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, Kara, I swear,” Barry said. “I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Cecile interrupted, entering the room alongside Joe, who carried Baby Emma. “Tell everyone what I just heard you think.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha – I didn’t think anything!” Barry threw his hands up in the air. Cecile gave him a hard, direct stare.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s focusing on the rest of us because he doesn’t want to go himself,” she said. Barry looked away as Cecile continued.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re terrified, Barry. I can practically feel it coming off of you in waves. And the easiest thing right now is for you to concentrate on protecting everyone else in this room except for yourself. I know you saw Elliott in your apartment five months ago. I know you heard him say he wanted to kill you. It’s okay to be scared, Barry. I promise. Don’t deny yourself that.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara stepped up. “Barry, please. Let us help you. You don’t have to do this alone.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry drew a hand across his face. “That’s exactly what Elliott’s counting on.”</p><p> </p><p>“So?” Iris asked hotly. “We’re not giving him what he wants, whether that’s you or anything else. We can do this together, Barry. We always have, and we always will.”</p><p> </p><p>“You wanted news about Elliott?” yelled a voice from the hallway. Nash staggered inside, holding a hand to his side and a museum brochure. “Here it is!”</p><p> </p><p>“Nash?!” Cisco and Barry rushed to help him while Caitlin grabbed the bandages.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened?!” she demanded. Nash shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Went to the museum – ran into trouble –”</p><p> </p><p>“We got that much,” Cisco muttered. Nash waved the museum brochure in his hand, practically shoving it into Barry’s face. Barry took it, staring at it in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“What does it say, Barry?” Joe asked. He didn’t answer.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, what does it say!”</p><p> </p><p>“Central City Museum, 9 PM. Come alone, or everyone you love dies.”</p><p> </p><p>“We have six hours,” Iris said and slammed her hand down on the computer’s emergency lockdown button. Every door to the outside sealed shut.</p><p> </p><p>“None of us are leaving until we come up with a plan, and a good one at that,” Iris said. She met Barry’s eyes, softening as she searched his face.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll find a way, Barry. I promise.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wasted Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>STAR LABS</p><p> </p><p>FIVE HOURS LATER</p><p> </p><p>Barry sat with his back against one of the containment cells, staring into the long, dark hallway in front of him. He wasn’t used to being this scared, this... maybe Cecile had been right when she’d said he was terrified earlier. He could barely think for fear of thinking about Elliott, about those nights in the museum. He hated it so, so much. Was this what everyone felt normally about supervillains? Barry crossed his arms over his chest, barely noticing when Iris walked up and sat next to him. He glanced over at her, taking her hand in his when she offered it.</p><p> </p><p>"You know, brooding isn't a good look on you."</p><p> </p><p>Barry glanced over at her, raising his eyebrows in response. Iris smiled thinly, knocking into his shoulder lightly. </p><p> </p><p>“The team would've appreciated your input, you know,” she whispered. Barry nodded, his throat constricting.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve decided Kara and Clark will be the ones going with you for immediate backup,” Iris continued. “Joe’s alerted the force that there might be something happening at the museum tonight. It’ll be all hands on deck.”</p><p> </p><p>“How’s Nash?” Barry asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Tired, but fine,” Iris shook her head. “Someone ambushed him in the museum, and he walked all the way back to STAR Labs. The least he could’ve done is called.”</p><p> </p><p>“Someone,” Barry grunted, then looked over at Iris. “You can say Elliott.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Iris said evenly. “But Nash wasn’t exactly sure if it was a nine-year-old who stabbed him.”</p><p> </p><p>“It couldn’t be anyone else, Iris,” Barry said, and Iris gave him a look. He withdrew his hand, starting to gesture like he always did when he was getting upset and had to make a point. “We know he put Woolly there as bait, we know he left that note, and we know he wants revenge on all of us. He still has access to our apartment, access to the museum, and maybe even STAR Labs, I –”</p><p> </p><p>“Babe, do we really know any of that?” Iris interrupted. Barry fell silent, ducking his head and looking at the floor. “Besides – if Elliott is able to get into all these places, why hasn’t he killed you yet? Or me, or Cisco, or Caitlin or literally any one of our friends?”</p><p> </p><p>“I – don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s right,” Iris said. “Which is why we need more evidence before we jump to conclusions! Barry –” She stopped as Barry stood up, reluctantly leaving her side. “Barry, please, listen to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t understand why you don’t believe me,” Barry said, turning around to look at her. He put a hand to his face, shaking his head. “There’s evidence enough, Iris! Elliott is back, and he’ll stop at nothing to get any of us again.”</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t do anything rash,” Iris countered, also standing up. She approached her husband, but Barry turned away. “Barry, where are you going!”</p><p> </p><p>“Speed lab,” he threw over his shoulder. “I – I need to be alone, Iris. I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry!” Iris called, but he was already gone in the depths of STAR Labs. Iris stared down the empty hallway, left alone with her thoughts. She just wanted to help him. Why couldn’t he see that? Had therapy meant nothing to him these last few months? Iris shook her head, about to head back to rejoin the rest of the team, when the lights flickered and died. All power shut off with a great boom. The doors clicked all at once, unlocking themselves in quick succession.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?” Iris called, reaching out to touch the wall and get some idea of what was happening. “Hello, who’s there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris?!” yelled someone, and she thought it was Barry. She started to run, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she kept going. “Iris!”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry?!” she called, and the lights flickered back on. Iris froze. By some twist of fate, she had arrived at the entrance to the speed lab. She watched in horror as Elliott pressed a wet cloth over Barry’s mouth, watched as her husband slid to the ground unconscious. Elliott looked over and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello, Iris,” he said, even going so far as to wave at her. Iris felt her stomach lurch in disgust at his next words. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>“You leave him alone,” Iris demanded. Elliott laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s pretty funny, isn’t it? The Flash, beaten by a nine-year-old. All it took was one little threat against you and all the rest and Barry did exactly what I told him to do.”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean it, Elliott,” Iris said, taking a step closer. “Let him go. We all just want to get on with our lives –”</p><p> </p><p>“And you think I don’t?” Elliott snarled. “I won’t be able to live again until my revenge is complete. The sooner you learn that, the better.”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Iris screamed, rushing forward. Elliott held up a gleaming, silver remote, pressing the red button. A doorway to a dark basement opened up immediately, and he dragged the unconscious Barry inside. Iris grabbed Barry’s limp hand, struggling to pull him back to her.</p><p> </p><p>“You are not taking him again!” she cried. Elliott sighed, and pressed another button on his remote. There was a sudden burst of white light, and Iris let go of Barry, stumbling back disoriented. The doorway closed with a snap. When Iris uncovered her eyes, the room was empty again.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris?”</p><p> </p><p>She turned slowly. Kara stumbled to the doorway, just as disoriented as Iris was.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened?” she asked. There was a tense moment of silence between them. Kara looked around, her eyes finally landing on the empty floor. She looked up to meet Iris’ eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” she said. Iris nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Alert the rest of the team,” she said. “We can’t waste any more time.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Welcome Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>CENTRAL CITY MUSEUM</p><p> </p><p>“Welcome back, Mr. Allen.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry opened his eyes. He blinked back sleep, the world rapidly focusing as he woke up. He lifted his head, the breath leaving him as he saw who sat across the table from him.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott,” he said. Barry tried to stand, but noticed far too late that he was tied to a metal chair. Elliott drew back, smiling grimly.</p><p> </p><p>“Glad to know you still remember me,” he teased. “I was starting to worry.”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you get past security?” Barry demanded. Elliott just laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Security? Oh, please. I disabled your alarms in under a minute. For a secret lab, you really have a lot to work on. Consider this a lesson in safety, Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you want with me this time?” he asked. Elliott shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“I think you already know what I want,” Elliott said. Barry strained against the chair, struggling to feel a connection to his powers. He had to phase through, had to run, had to do anything to get away --</p><p> </p><p>“Wondering how I took away your speed again?” Elliott guessed. He held up the wet cloth. “It wasn’t that hard to replicate the power-dampening compound I made back in the Museum. Oh, don’t worry. You won’t die if you leave this room. At least – I don’t think so.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry remained silent as Elliott got up and sat on the table. He produced Barry’s phone from his pocket, waving it in his face.</p><p> </p><p>“You still think Team Flash is coming to rescue you, don’t you? I’m touched you still believe in them. You want to know something else?”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott pressed a button on the phone, bringing up a video. It expanded and filled the screen until Barry was looking down at security footage from the lab. Iris, Cisco and Caitlin paced around the lab, arguing silently. Elliott frowned, then turned the volume up on the side as Barry watched Kara and Clark enter.</p><p> </p><p>“We found something,” Kara said, her voice tight. Clark produced a blinking watch, showing it to everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>“Why is it –” Cisco interrupted himself as he grabbed the watch and threw it on the floor. “Blinking. Everyone stay back, it’s a bomb –”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry whispered. “No!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll take it,” Clark said, and grabbed it back. Elliott pressed a button on his remote control, and suddenly he and Barry were projected onto the large TV screen in STAR Labs.</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Superman,” Elliott grinned. Clark stopped in his tracks, and everyone turned to look. Barry watched Iris clench her fists in anger.</p><p> </p><p>“See, do you really know where that bomb will go off?” Elliott continued. “I might’ve programmed it for all of you. Or I might’ve programmed it for our dear Barry here. If you fly that out of the city, who knows what could happen?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s lying,” Barry interrupted. “He’s lying, you have to get rid of it now!”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t think I am,” Elliott said. He reached into Barry’s shirt pocket, drawing out an identical blinking watch just so everyone could see. “Reach the end of the countdown, and Barry could be vaporized into dust. Are you willing to take that chance?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just tell us what you want, Elliott,” Caitlin stepped up to the screen.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to play a game of hide and seek,” the nine-year-old said cheerfully. “Cisco, don’t bother trying to track this signal, it won’t matter in a minute. You’ll have a week to find Barry here, wherever we hide. Each day I’ll give you a clue as to where we are, and you have until the end of the day to find him. If you don’t find him, I’ll release a surprise.”</p><p> </p><p>“What sort of surprise?” Kara asked, narrowing her eyes. Elliott shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think you need to know that yet, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t do this,” Barry begged. “Don’t play along with this, please –”</p><p> </p><p>“We know where you are, Elliott,” Iris interrupted. “Central City Museum. What’s to stop us from rushing in right now and stopping this game of yours?”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott smiled. “I guess you’ll just have to find out. Say goodbye, Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, listen to me!” Barry yelled. Museum security guards materialized out of the darkness behind him, dragging him away from Elliott and the camera. “Protocol Kara and Clark, Protocol Kara and Clark, the elephant has the key –"</p><p> </p><p>“I’m still here, you know,” Elliott mocked. He turned the camera onto Barry, showing everyone his terrified expression. “Whatever secret message you’re trying to send to them, I’ll figure it out. You’re forgetting I do my research.”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott dropped the phone onto the ground. The camera flipped up again, so the crew at STAR Labs could see exactly what was going on. Blue lightning roared to life from the end of a baton, and Elliott advanced upon Barry. He screamed, his entire body lighting up so that everyone could see his skeleton. Elliott looked down, and smashed the phone with his boot. The screen went dark. Everyone looked at the bomb as it finished its countdown, freezing right before it hit 0. Cisco was the first to speak.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no protocol named for Kara or Clark.”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t it obvious?” Kara said. “He’s telling us how to rescue him.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>CENTRAL CITY MUSEUM</p><p> </p><p>“Central City is once again on high alert tonight in search of the supervillain who calls himself The Curator. Last seen in public six months ago at The Museum of the Worlds, we are being informed he has taken a hostage in the basement of Central City Museum. Pedestrians are advised to stay far away from this area tonight, as –”</p><p> </p><p>“Joe!” Clark called as he and Kara walked past the news anchor and over to Joe West, who leaned up against a police cruiser outside the museum. “Do you have any eyes inside the museum?”</p><p> </p><p>“Still nothing, Superman,” Joe said, getting a confirmation from one of his officers. “Elliott must’ve disabled the security cameras. Your best bet is to go through the second level, and get down to the basement using the emergency stairwell.”</p><p> </p><p>“Got it,” Kara nodded. “I’ll search Woolly, see if there’s any clues.”</p><p> </p><p>“You couldn’t have come up with something more creative for naming the woolly mammoth?” Clark asked. Kara shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor told us she can talk to animals, and she said the woolly mammoth was named Woolly,” she explained. “Who am I to judge?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve got Cisco and Iris on comms,” Clark said to Joe. “Frost and Elongated Man are on standby.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck,” Joe shook both Kara and Clark’s hands. “And please – don’t let Barry do anything dumb again.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll do our best,” Kara said seriously. She exchanged a look with Clark, who nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I think it’s time,” he said. He flew up into the air, landing on the roof of the museum. Kara took a deep breath, and headed for the museum’s front doors. She took one last look back at Joe, who met her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck, Supergirl,” he repeated. Kara softened.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll get him back, Joe,” she resolved. “I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>She pushed open the doors and entered the museum. The doors shut closed with a heavy clang behind her. Kara looked around at the marble floors, the shadowed walls, the glass exhibits. She walked up to the woolly mammoth, looking around for any clue from Barry. Kara whirled around as some sound echoed through the floors. She scanned her surroundings, but there was still nothing there. Kara looked over her shoulder, spotting a scrap of paper on the ground. How -- ?</p><p> </p><p>“Kara!” Clark flew down from the top floor, landing next to the museum.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you find him?” Kara asked. Clark shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“The basement was empty,” he said. “Wherever Elliott took Barry, it’s not here.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, look,” Kara said, and kneeled down to pick up the scrap of paper. “He left us something.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s just the number two,” Clark said, trading a look with Kara. She crumpled the paper in her fist, looking up to the museum.</p><p> </p><p>“Second floor,” she said quietly. Kara flew up, rushing around the glass cases until she finally found him.</p><p> </p><p>“Kara,” Barry said, his voice muffled through the glass. He put his hand to the wall as Kara skidded to a stop in front of him. “Kara, you need to find Elliott, and stop him from posting his video –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, what do you mean?” Kara asked. “Step back, I’m going to break the glass –”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry put out his hands. “No, Kara, you don’t understand, I’m not –”</p><p> </p><p>“Kara, are you there?” Cisco said through the comms. Kara started as Barry suddenly shimmered and flickered out of view before her, finally disappearing. She put a hand up to her ear to respond.</p><p> </p><p>“I found Barry, but he was just a hologram,” she said. “What do we do –"</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no time,” Cisco interrupted. “We just received a video broadcast from an abandoned warehouse in the city. And it’s – it’s bad.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bad?” Kara echoed. “Worse than – Barry disappearing right before my eyes?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just watch,” Cisco said. There was a flash, and the wall tv sprang to life. Clark landed beside Kara, watching the footage.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?” Elliott said, taking a scared glance over his shoulder. “I – I don’t have enough time. He’s coming back soon –”</p><p> </p><p>“What is he talking about?” Kara murmured.</p><p> </p><p>“I know my dad, the Curator, was a bad guy,” continued Elliott. “I know he did some horrible things. But Mr. Allen is crazy –”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott?” called a voice from off-screen. Kara exchanged a worried look with Clark.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s Barry,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>“Please, he took me to the old museum storage hall,” Elliott pleaded. “I don’t know what he’s planning on doing, you have to save me –”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott!” Barry yelled again. Elliott froze, turning to look. Kara widened her eyes as she watched Barry push the kid out of the chair. He sat down instead, his face drawn and blank as he addressed the camera.</p><p> </p><p>“You have one hour,” Barry intoned, looking straight into the lens. “Surprise.”</p><p> </p><p>He fumbled with the camera, the screen going dark once more. Kara stared at her and Clark’s reflections.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess this is the first surprise,” Clark said. “Framing Barry for kidnapping.”</p><p> </p><p>“But we found him,” Kara argued. “Elliott tricked us –”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think saving Barry is going to be as easy as last time,” Clark said. He looked back at Kara, sighing heavily.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to take things slow. We don’t know what could be waiting for us –”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s obviously Elliott,” Kara argued. “He’s obviously framing Barry, Barry’s been fine for months –”</p><p> </p><p>“Has he?” Clark asked.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Barry's Surprise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>STAR LABS</p><p> </p><p>10 MINUTES LATER</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no way Barry would kidnap Elliott,” Iris said firmly. She and the rest of the team gathered in the main control room, everyone feeling varying degrees of worry and anxiety. “How could he? I saw Elliott take him from STAR Labs, we all saw what he did –”</p><p> </p><p>“We know that Iris, but the rest of Central City doesn’t,” Cisco argued, lifting his head from his hands. “Pretty soon, everyone’s going to be expecting the Flash to rush in there and save Elliott. What happens when he doesn’t?”</p><p> </p><p>“I contacted Mr. and Mrs. Pax,” Caitlin said. “I told them Barry is not behind this, but they weren’t convinced. They said that Barry had been showing up at their house at odd hours, watching them through the windows –”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s impossible,” Iris said. “Barry hasn’t visited the Pax house in months, he refused to see Elliott at all!”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?” Clark asked. He crossed his arms across his chest, trying to protect himself from the glares he received. “Look, I’m just saying we need to explore all the options here. We all know Barry was hurt after the Museum. What if -- ?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think we should be doubting Barry when he’s the one being held hostage!” Iris argued. Clark tried to say something as she left the room, fuming. He turned to Kara, trying to make her see sense.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything here,” he pleaded. “Kara –”</p><p> </p><p>“Kal’s right,” Kara said heavily. “We can’t rule out any possibility.”</p><p> </p><p>“If Barry was going to kidnap anyone, I think we would’ve known it,” interjected Ralph. “Guy’s not exactly subtle.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll call Alex,” Kara said. “See if she and Brainy can turn up any more information, either on the Pax’s or Elliott’s plans. The DEO alert in all local museums should be activated. If Elliott and Barry are in any museum in National City or here, we’ll know about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“We still have forty-five minutes,” Cisco said. “Joe’s getting a task force together down by the storage facility. Whatever Elliott’s trying to do, we’ll stop him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Guys?” Cecile entered, visibly upset. “The entire police force is calling for Barry’s resignation, plus some very vocal activists on social media. How are we going to explain this?”</p><p> </p><p>“So that’s Elliott’s plan, get Barry out of a job?” Caitlin asked. “Doesn’t exactly factor into his “death to us all” thing he promised, does it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just rescue him first, then we can debate Elliott’s methods all we want,” Kara said. “Who’s coming with me?”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>MUSEUM STORAGE FACILITY</p><p> </p><p>Central City’s harbor was calm and peaceful tonight, the exact opposite of what was going down outside the doors of the large, sleek storage hangar. Police cruisers flanked the outside, Joe’s entire team assembled right outside the closed and padlocked doors. There was almost no movement from within, no sign of life at all. The force was starting to get antsy.</p><p> </p><p>“Captain, are you sure we have the right place?”</p><p> </p><p>Joe turned to look at the officer addressing him. He grimaced, nodding reluctantly.</p><p> </p><p>“This is the only place they could be. Just stay on high alert, we’ll have backup in a moment.”</p><p> </p><p>“Backup?” The officer questioned. “Sir, the whole force is here. How much more backup could we need?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a sudden whoosh, and Supergirl landed next to Joe, her eyes bright with worry.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s the situation, Captain?” she asked. Joe shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s been quiet,” he said. “A little too quiet, if you ask me. What if this whole thing is a ruse?”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott would’ve broadcasted it by now,” Kara said. “He’s not one to avoid leaving clues.”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott?” The officer questioned. “What, you mean the little kid Allen’s taken as a hostage? How could he be behind this?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a long story,” said Kara, on the verge of telling the officer more. She was interrupted by a loud scraping and groaning sound as the storage doors opened. Kara flew up into the air, touching a light hand to her comms.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, do you have a visual yet? Something’s happening.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you be a little more specific?” Cisco shot back, all his nerves on edge. “Is Barry there?”</p><p> </p><p>“No eyes yet, Supergirl,” Caitlin said, still clacking away at the keyboard. “What’s going on?”</p><p> </p><p>The force readied their weapons as a tall form materialized out of the darkness, holding a knife to Elliott’s throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Stand down!” yelled Joe as the pair emerged from the warehouse. “Barry, let him go. Now.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s Barry all right,” Kara said into her comms, her voice betraying her shock. “He really is behind this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Almost got a visual,” Caitlin said. “See if you can stall him and Elliott for a little while longer.”</p><p> </p><p>“On it.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara swooped down, landing in front of her best superfriend and Elliott. She stared at Barry, trying to gage how he was feeling, checking him over for any injuries at all, but there was nothing. Only his eyes and face were blank, expressionless.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Kara said. No matter how even she tried to make her voice sound, it was no use. “Barry, this isn’t you.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what do you know about it?” Barry asked, his collected composure suddenly breaking. He sucked in a deep breath, his hands beginning to shake. Elliott remained as still as a post, looking to all the world like an innocent, frightened little kid.</p><p> </p><p>“You weren’t there with me in the museum, you weren’t there when he tried to make me an exhibit!” Barry said, his voice hinging on the edge of desperation. Kara zeroed in on his shaking hands, her eyes going wide as they started to vibrate. The knife fell out of Barry’s hands, clattering to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Kara whispered, taking a step closer so she was blocking Elliott and Barry from the view of most of the policemen. “Barry, please. Just listen to me, alright? I’m here to take you back home –”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t, Kara!” Barry shouted. Kara flinched, refusing to take a look back at the officers behind her. “I can’t – I can’t go home, he’s just going to find me again and take me from all of you – why can’t I just end that?! Why can’t I just stop that from happening?!”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you give him?!” Kara hissed at Elliott, feeling her stomach drop as he smiled. “What did you do to him now?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” laughed Elliott. “Just a – taste of his own medicine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kara, don’t you trust me?!” Barry pleaded. “This is the only way to make this all – make this all go away, forever.”</p><p> </p><p>“The real Barry Allen I know doesn’t kill, no matter what,” Kara shot back, meeting her friend’s eyes. She took another step forward, reaching out to take his vibrating hand. “Whatever Elliott’s done to you, Barry, please. You have to fight it. Come back to us.”</p><p> </p><p>“I –”</p><p> </p><p>Barry looked down at Kara’s hand as she took his in hers. His face crumpled, and the next thing she knew, he let go of Elliott and was hugging her as tightly as possible. Kara put her arms around him, trying not to sound as shocked or relieved as she felt right now.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s going to be alright,” she soothed. “Barry, I promise. It’ll be okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“You were right,” he whispered. “This isn’t me, Kara. I – I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what he did to me –”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just get you back to STAR Labs,” she said, pulling away and trying to smile at him. “Cisco and Caitlin can figure out what’s wrong, and –”</p><p> </p><p>Kara paused. She put a hand to her ear, realizing she no longer heard anything on her comms.</p><p> </p><p>“Cisco?” she asked. “Caitlin, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kara?” Barry said suddenly, pulling away from her in surprise. He looked around at the harbor, the dark sky above them, the police force surrounding them and the warehouse. “Kara, what’s – how did I get here?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Kara asked, giving him a look. “Barry, what do you mean? Elliott kidnapped you –”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Barry’s voice rose. “No, no, I was in STAR Labs just a second ago –”</p><p> </p><p>“Memory loss,” interrupted Elliott triumphantly. Kara and Barry both turned to look at the little kid. “Isn’t it a wonder? I’ll have to find out if I can replicate the process on you too, Supergirl. Alien physiology isn’t that different from a meta-human, is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever game you wanted to play is over, Elliott,” Kara growled. “Barry, get out of here, just run –”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it’s too late for that, Supergirl,” Elliott grinned nastily. “Or should I say – Kara Danvers? You two won’t go anywhere if you want your friends to stay alive. Remember that bomb I gave to STAR Labs, Kara?”</p><p> </p><p>“Bomb?” Barry echoed. “There’s a bomb at STAR Labs -- ?”</p><p> </p><p>“What about it?!” Kara demanded. Elliott held up the silver remote.</p><p> </p><p>“I can press this button,” he threatened. “And either the bomb will go off there, or it’ll go off when Mr. Allen uses his speed. Do you want to take that chance?”</p><p> </p><p>“Again with the ultimatums,” Kara shot back. “Do you have nothing better to do, Elliott? Do you really want to spend your childhood seeking revenge like this?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was never a kid,” Elliott spat. “I didn’t get to grow up like any of you, because of what happened to my parents!”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott,” Barry interrupted. Kara put out a hand to stop him from getting any closer to the little kid. “Elliott, that wasn’t our fault.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it was,” Elliott’s face soured. “You’ll learn so soon, Mr. Allen. And I can’t wait to see the look in your eyes when you do –”</p><p> </p><p>Barry started forward, only stopping as Kara held him back. “You’ll pay for all of this, Elliott –”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” Elliott shrugged. “Maybe not. Are you willing to wait around a little longer to find out?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your parents are back, because of what you did,” Kara said, her desperation rising. “Don’t you want to spend time with them, enjoy your life with them?”</p><p> </p><p>“Joe!” Barry yelled over at the captain, standing motionless by his car. “Joe, help us!”</p><p> </p><p>“Captain West can’t do anything, I’m afraid,” Elliott smiled thinly. “All he and the precious Central City PD are seeing now is a red blur running around in circles. And what do you think he’ll see when I press this other button?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry said, his voice low with panic. “No, don’t –”</p><p> </p><p>“Goodbye, Kara, Barry,” Elliott said. Kara grabbed onto Barry’s shoulder as Elliott clicked the button on his remote. A window into another place opened up beneath their feet, and all Barry saw before plummeting into unrecognizable space was Elliott falling to the ground dramatically and the red blur disappearing from sight. The window snapped shut behind them.</p><p> </p><p>Joe and the police force sprang back into action. Joe rushed forward, unable to believe his eyes at the sight. Elliott, lying seemingly dead on the ground. Supergirl and Barry, gone. And Barry – Barry had --</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the Flash!” an officer cried. “He’s turned evil!”</p><p> </p><p>Joe stared around, trying to find the right words to say, anything at all. He put a hand up to his earpiece that connected him to STAR Labs.</p><p> </p><p>“Caitlin, Cisco, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>“We got disconnected, but we’re back,” Caitlin’s voice crackled over comms. “What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Joe looked at an officer who knelt over Elliott. The officer glanced up, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s gone, Captain.”</p><p> </p><p>“Joe?” Caitlin asked again. “What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“The unthinkable,” Joe said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Forest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>mild spoilers for arrow ahead!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>UNKNOWN LOCATION</p><p> </p><p>“Where are we?” Kara asked as she pushed aside yet another leafy tree branch from their path. She and Barry trudged through a darkening forest, roots, and sticks of all kinds getting in their way with every step. She’d used her heat ray when they’d started walking but quickly realized that setting the same forest they were walking through on fire wouldn’t help in the slightest.</p><p> </p><p>Barry shook his head, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. “I don’t know. Elliott could’ve sent us anywhere –”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you need to slow down,” Kara said, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his arm. Barry sighed, looking around for any other sign of life for the fifth time in minutes.</p><p> </p><p>“What we need is to get out of here,” he reminded her. “When you flew over, are you sure you didn’t find anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure,” Kara said, tightening her hand around Barry’s arm as he made to pull away. “Wait, Barry – I mean it, we need to rest. You’re still not in good shape –”</p><p> </p><p>“I told you, I feel fine,” Barry insisted. “The sooner we get back to Central City, the sooner we can clear my name and deal with Elliott.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m right there with you,” Kara said, her voice taking on a bit of an edge. “But don’t you think you need a moment? A lot happened back there –”</p><p> </p><p>“Kara, if I slow down for even just a second, who knows what else Elliott could do to everyone?” Barry argued. Kara shot him a hard look.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott won’t need to hurt anyone else if you’re half-dead by the time we reach Central City!”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, fine,” Barry huffed, wincing just in the slightest. “Kara, let go of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Only after you promise to sit down and take a break,” she said. Barry sighed, putting his free hand in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Kara said, reluctantly letting go of him. He walked on, finally sitting down on a tree stump. Kara looked him over, sitting down next to him after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have any obvious injuries,” she said, and Barry gave her a look.</p><p> </p><p>“Speed healing, remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s still working?” Kara asked. Barry nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“For now,” he admitted, and looked back over at her. “I hate this – this feeling of not knowing what’s going on.”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me about it,” Kara groused. “Whatever Elliott’s planning, he’s taking his time with it. And enjoying himself a little too much.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just when I... thought I’d finally be rid of him, you know?” Barry said, leaning back against the tree. Kara put her chin in her hand. “I really thought he’d changed or moved on, or...”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a lot like you,” Kara said, and Barry shot her a look.</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Gathering evidence, data, pursuing one thing at a time,” Kara explained. “His idea of revenge on you, it’s so...”</p><p> </p><p>“Narrow-minded?” Barry suggested. Kara shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“If Oliver were here, I bet he’d already come up with a dozen different ways on beating Elliott at his own game,” she said. Barry smiled thinly.</p><p> </p><p>“If he found out about the Museum, he would’ve torn it down brick by brick,” he said. Kara snorted.</p><p> </p><p>“You have failed this exhibition,” she said, deepening her voice to sound like Oliver. Barry laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“He never sounded like that –”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah?” Kara asked playfully. “You do your best Green Arrow impression, come on. I wanna hear it.”</p><p> </p><p>“You have failed this museum,” Barry said, trying to do his best. He and Kara laughed, the sounds slowly dying away in the oppressive silence.</p><p> </p><p>Barry coughed.</p><p> </p><p>“I wish he was here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” Kara whispered.</p><p> </p><p>They lapsed into quiet again, the forest sounds filling the air instead. Barry glanced up as a dark shape flew overhead, and stood up.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you see that?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Kara joined him, looking up. “What was it?”</p><p> </p><p>“A plane,” Barry said, squinting into the sun up above. “We must be somewhere near an airfield. Maybe we’re even near Central City still.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll go take a look,” Kara promised, touching Barry’s arm lightly. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll do a perimeter search,” Barry said, prepared to run off, but Kara shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t! The bomb, back at STAR Labs – it’s tied to your speed, remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“I –” Barry looked away, swallowing thickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott mentioned something about memory loss,” Kara said, trying to push her fear down. “Barry, are you sure you’re feeling alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“How can he be doing this to me?” Barry asked suddenly. “I mean – it’s like Iris said. He’s just a kid now. Where could he possibly be getting all this technology, all this – all this future tech?”</p><p> </p><p>“I – I don’t know,” Kara said quietly. “Maybe he’s working with someone from the future, someone who holds a grudge against you and the Flash –”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry said, meeting her eyes. “I think this is all Elliott. I really do. There’s just – another piece that we’re missing from this, Kara, and we need to figure it out as soon as possible.”</p><p> </p><p>“And we will,” she promised. “I swear, Barry, we will. No matter if it’s aliens, or future technology, or –”</p><p> </p><p>Kara froze, something in her memory jogged. Barry took another look at her.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Aliens,” Kara whispered and flew up into the sky. She rose way up above the trees, searching the dense greenery for any sign of it. This had to be the same forest. Nothing Elliott did never had a connection to anything else besides himself or Barry...</p><p> </p><p>There. Kara sucked in a breath as she spotted a small, rickety wooden cabin in the distance. She flew back down, landing next to Barry.</p><p> </p><p>“I found it,” she said. Barry wrinkled his eyes in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Found – what?”</p><p> </p><p>“The reason we’re here,” Kara began to explain. “When we were trying to learn more about Elliott and the Museum, I went into Iris’ memories. I was in this forest. I saw Elliott put his plan in motion!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, Iris? What does Iris have to do with any of this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just hang on,” Kara said, and not giving him any time to answer, grabbed Barry and flew up into the sky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Kara's Surprise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>***</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kara landed back on the forest floor, skidding to a stop as she let Barry go. He wavered slightly on his feet, grabbing a tree for balance.</p><p> </p><p>“Have I never flown you anywhere before?” Kara asked, shooting him a strange look. Barry shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“Must not. That was – “</p><p> </p><p>“Exhilarating?” Kara guessed, even starting to smile a little. Barry returned it.</p><p> </p><p>“Almost as exhilarating as running,” he grinned, and Kara punched his shoulder. She rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Guess I should’ve expected that one.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what did you say this place was?” Barry inquired, taking a look up at the ramshackle wood cottage. It looked empty and forlorn, taken over by vines and branches and what-have-you. Clearly no one had been here in a long, long time. Kara took a deep breath, leading the way inside. Knocking down the rickety door didn’t take that much effort. It fell down in one swoop, sending up plumes of dust and dirt. Kara and Barry both coughed, their eyes watering as they waited for the air to clear.</p><p> </p><p>“This is where Elliott found the alien,” Kara explained. “The one that he absorbed, the one that made him grow old and create the museum. There must be something it left behind, some kind of clue we can use –”</p><p> </p><p>“What did it look like?” Barry asked. He traced a finger across the windowsill, making a face at the dust he picked up.</p><p> </p><p>“Like a – a glowing ball of light,” Kara said, trying to figure out how to explain it. “It was this light gold color, too, like no alien I’ve ever heard of or read about before. But the Doctor seemed to know what it was when she –”</p><p> </p><p>Kara froze, a sudden realization dawning on her. Barry glanced over, frowning.</p><p> </p><p>“When she?”</p><p> </p><p>“When she brought you back to life,” Kara said in a hushed whisper. She met Barry’s eyes, slowly putting the pieces together.</p><p> </p><p>“What if Elliott laid a trap for that alien here?” she asked. “What if – what if he put a defense measure in place just in case it ever came back –”</p><p> </p><p>“But the alien isn’t here,” Barry said slowly. “How could it be?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor and Elliott used some sort of – some sort of golden light ball to reactivate your connection to the speed force,” Kara said. Barry stared at her, his eyes going wide as he reached the same conclusion as her. “I thought it just disappeared but what if –"</p><p> </p><p>“Are you saying there’s an alien inside of me?!”</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t jump to conclusions,” Kara warned. “We can’t –”</p><p> </p><p>But Barry suddenly fell to his knees, putting a hand to his heart. He gasped as golden light began to shoot out in all directions from his body, turning his face up to Kara as the light began to envelop him. He reached for her hand, despair clouding his face.</p><p> </p><p>“Kara –”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m here,” Kara said, grabbing his hand. “I’m here, Barry, I – you’re going to be alright –”</p><p> </p><p>The golden light grew and grew until lightning crackled and formed a sphere in the air. Kara looked up at the alien form as it solidified, watching as the lightning disappeared and the ball of light began pulsing gently.</p><p> </p><p>“We have been summoned,” it intoned. “We are called Orb. What is your will?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Kara whispered, glancing down as Barry’s hand went limp and still in her grasp. “No, no one’s summoned you, go back and save my friend again –”</p><p> </p><p>“We cannot go back,” the alien interrupted, pulsing in time to its words. “Our energy is fading.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re fading because you were the only thing keeping my friend alive!” Kara yelled. The glowing orb pulsed again, but didn’t respond. Kara got to her feet, a murderous look in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I will not lose anyone else again,” she said. “Least of all Barry. So you need to do whatever the Doctor asked you to, and save him again –”</p><p> </p><p>“Your request is impossible,” Orb said. “Once we have been summoned, we cannot go back to our prior directive.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care!” Kara screamed, her laser beam shooting out from her eyes and creating a hole in the wall as it shot through the alien. More light pulsed and fell to the ground in a shower of sparks, dying.</p><p> </p><p>“We cannot complete your request,” the alien repeated, but it sounded weirdly uncertain of itself. It started to shed more and more light as it pulsed. If Kara thought it could sound desperate, it definitely did. “We cannot –”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re dying too,” she said softly. “You can’t live without a host, can you? Ever since Elliott absorbed you into him.”</p><p> </p><p>“That is not correct –”</p><p> </p><p>“Then what am I right about?!” Kara yelled in frustration. “I see it, Mr. Glowing Space Ball thing, you can’t live without a human anymore. Can you? So I suggest that you do whatever you did before, and save Barry again, so you can both live.”</p><p> </p><p>The glowing ball pulsed gently. “We will not be tied to another –”</p><p> </p><p>“Would you rather be tied to Elliott?!” Kara demanded. “Someone who’s hell-bent on achieving what he wants no matter who’s life he destroys along the way?!”</p><p> </p><p>The orb didn’t respond. Kara pushed forward.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she begged. “Barry is good and kind, and he actually saves people in the world. He does true good for all of humanity. I don’t know where you went when you saved him last time, but – if there’s ever a time when we – when <em>I</em> need him back, it’s now.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara held her breath as the orb pulsated, more of its light dying in the darkness. It was almost as small as her fist now. She tightened her fists, not daring to look down at Barry’s still face. She couldn’t bear seeing any more dead.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she whispered again. “If not for me, then for him. His family. Anything.”</p><p> </p><p>The orb pulsed again, the movement slowing down.</p><p> </p><p>“We will be completely absorbed,” it said. “Nothing will remain of us again after we are absorbed back into the speedforce.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara had no answer for that. She risked a glance down at Barry’s face, wishing that he was only sleeping. As she stared, he started to glow. Kara looked up again and the glowing orb was dissolving into sparks again, flooding back down into the body of her friend. Darkness invaded the tiny cottage once more. She hadn’t realized how late it had gotten.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry?” she whispered hesitantly, taking his hand in his once more. It felt warm. “Barry, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>Kara gripped his lifeless hand like it was her lifeline, her only connection to this world. She hardly noticed as she began to cry. She closed her eyes, already dreading what she was going to have to tell Iris.</p><p> </p><p>Barry gasped and opened his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbows, letting Kara help him to his feet again. “What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“The alien –” Kara threw her arms around him in a hug. “It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad you’re alive. I’m flying us both back to Central City, asap. Think you’re up for another ride?”</p><p> </p><p>“The faster we get away from Elliott and his evil lair, the better,” he said. “Let’s go.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Radio Transmission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>STAR LABS</p><p> </p><p>ONE HOUR LATER</p><p> </p><p>Kara and Barry landed at the doors to STAR Labs, both rushing on in as fast as they could. Kara led the way down the circular hallways to the control room, where the rest of Team Flash was assembled. Iris started in shock as she saw her husband.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you guys okay?!” Cisco asked. “Where have you been, we’ve been trying to get a signal locked down on you for the last hour –”</p><p> </p><p>Kara nodded tiredly. “Elliott sent us to the cabin in the woods where he first met Orb – the alien that he absorbed to make the Museum and grow old. But we’re fine now, I swear.”</p><p> </p><p>“We deactivated and dismantled Elliott’s bomb,” Caitlin said. “We’re all safe, thanks to Cisco.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, what can I say?” Cisco said, strangely avoiding looking at both Kara and Barry as he typed away on the computer. “All in a day’s work for Team Flash, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you alright?” Iris asked Barry, putting a hand to his face. He nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re fine,” he promised again, then looked up at the rest of the team. “Hey, you guys gotta know that what you saw on the video and outside the warehouse, wasn’t me. Elliott used some kind of projection to... to...”</p><p> </p><p>He swayed on his feet, slowly reaching up to feel his neck where Iris had stuck him with a sleeping dart. He pulled it out, looking down at Iris in shock.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you do?” he slurred, already swaying on his feet. Iris caught him as Barry collapsed to the ground, lowering him down as gently as possible.</p><p> </p><p>“What was that for?!” Kara demanded. “He was just about to tell you he was innocent, I can vouch for him!”</p><p> </p><p>“When Bloodwork turned Barry dark last year, we figured it would be better to have some sort of protocol in place in case it ever happened again,” Caitlin explained, her voice filled with remorse. “I’m sorry Kara, but we had to be prepared just in case he tricked us again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Look, we all know Barry would never kill anyone!” Kara said sternly. “Are you just not going to trust him ever again?! What about me, or any of the Legends? The JSA?”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why don’t you really tell us what happened?” Cisco asked. “How Elliott was able to project Barry’s speed lightning so that the entire police force could see it? How Elliott was confirmed dead?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s gone?” Kara asked softly. Cisco nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t like this any more than you do,” he said quietly. “Trust me, I don’t. But right now we need to protect ourselves just in case anything else goes wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara shook her head in disbelief. “This has to be another trick of his,” she said, trying to convince not only the others but herself, too. “There’s no way Elliott could be – that had to be fake, or something! I was just with Barry, Elliott gave him something to take away his speed, and to induce memory loss, and you’re just not going to give him the benefit of the doubt?!” She swung a look over to Iris, desperate.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, did you agree to this plan?”</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t have a choice, Kara,” Iris said, trying to stay strong. “I know it wasn’t really Barry who killed Elliott. But if there’s something or someone making him do these – these horrible things, then we need to make sure the rest of us are safe.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re giving up,” Kara said in shock. Iris’ eyes flashed in anger. She marched up to Kara, shaking her head.</p><p> </p><p>“I would never give up on any of us, least of all Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then what is this?!” Kara asked, gesturing to his sleeping form. “Is this what you call trust?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t accuse me of not knowing what’s best for my own husband –”</p><p> </p><p>“Well for someone who was replaced with a mirror doppelgänger within the last year, I wouldn’t say trust is very high up on my list right now –"</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe it would be better if you kept an eye on him at the DEO, Kara,” Caitlin interrupted before Iris had a chance to argue back. “Maybe Alex and J’onn can help us all figure this mess out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, guys?” Ralph poked his head into the door, holding up his cellphone. “I just got through to the Doctor – woah, what’s up with Barry?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor?!” Cisco asked. “Patch her through!”</p><p> </p><p>“Let me know what she says,” Kara said, picking up the unconscious Barry in her arms. “We’ll be at the DEO if you decide to trust either of us again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kara, wait!” Iris started to interject, but Supergirl was already flying away.</p><p> </p><p>“Got her!” Cisco yelled in triumph, punching a fist into the air as he jammed a button down on the computer console. “Doctor! Doctor, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?’ Yaz’s voice crackled through the STAR Labs speakers. “Hello, is anyone there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, it’s STAR Labs,” Iris said, brushing her hair out of her face and collecting herself. “Yaz, are you with the Doctor? We’ve been trying to reach you for days –”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve been trying to reach <em>you</em> for days!” Yaz said back. There was a sudden wheezing and groaning sound, and someone screamed in the background. “The Doctor and I haven’t been able to get through to Central City at all, it’s like someone put a forcefield that’s been blocking out the TARDIS –”</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re not able to get to us, can you reach the JSA?” Caitlin asked. “The Curator – Elliott. He’s back, and he’s been targeting all of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Cisco winced as a heavy explosion rocked the comms line. He grabbed the microphone in the remaining silence. “Yaz? Yaz, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re good!” yelled Yaz. Team Flash winced at the sudden feedback that shot through the speakers. “Just a bit of a rocky landing I think – I’ll tell the Doctor we need to alert the JSA! How’s Barry doing, is he --?”</p><p> </p><p>Another explosion rocked the speakers, and for a second they only heard garbled yelling, followed by another round of feedback. Iris leaned over to speak into the mic again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yaz! Yaz, are you still there?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Still here,” Yaz said back after a moment, but her voice shook. “Look guys, I’ve gotta go. We’ll see if we can get to the JSA in time. But your city really can’t make up its mind as to whether or not it wants us out or in – Doctor, watch out!”</p><p> </p><p>There was a giant boom, and the line went dead.</p><p> </p><p>“Yaz?” Cisco asked. “Doctor?”</p><p> </p><p>No answer. Everyone stared at the computers in silence.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll see if there’s a way we can reach her through analog,” Cisco said, rubbing his face tiredly. “Didn’t she say the TARDIS receives radio transmissions?”</p><p> </p><p>Ralph whistled in amazement. “I didn’t think her ship was really from the 1960s.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ralph, how can it be, it’s a time machine –”</p><p> </p><p>“Where are you going?” Caitlin said suddenly, walking up to Iris, who was already halfway out the doors. Iris turned around to face her.</p><p> </p><p>“I need to talk to the Pax’s, see if any of what we’ve seen is true,” she said, sighing. “Caitlin, promise me you’ll call me if anything changes? Either with Barry, or...”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll ask Kara to tell us immediately if anything happens,” she said, nodding. The two women hugged, then Iris broke away.</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck, Caitlin.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned away, and walked down the hallways. Caitlin watched her go, only turning back to Cisco when the harsh sound of a radio frequency blared through the air.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you get through?” she asked, hurrying over. Cisco grimaced, concentrating as he turned both knobs, trying to get the signal correct.</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet – I’m trying –”</p><p> </p><p>“How very clever of you, Team Flash,” interrupted a sweet little kid’s voice. Ralph yelped as everyone turned and saw Elliott Pax sitting on the table in the center of the room. “Going full analog now because you think that’ll help? How cute.”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you get inside?!” Cisco demanded. Elliott only laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t a better question, how am I alive? I thought you saw the Flash kill me. I think I deserve an Oscar for that performance, honestly.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can stop with the games now, Elliott,” Ralph threatened. “We found Barry, and he’s going to be alright. Just turn yourself in, and no one else has to get hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>“What would be the fun in that?” Elliott asked, swinging his legs back and forth. “The game never even stopped, Mr. Dibny. How do you know I haven’t planned this all from the beginning?”</p><p> </p><p>Cisco slammed his hand down on the lockdown button while Caitlin transformed into Killer Frost.</p><p> </p><p>“We have you surrounded, Elliott,” she menaced. “You can’t escape us now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you going to kidnap me too?” Elliott sneered. “How do you think my poor, grieving parents will feel about that? They just might decide to do something completely unexpected. And from what I hear, they’re about to receive a very special guest in just a few hours.”</p><p> </p><p>Cisco typed Iris’ phone number into the computers, calling her right away.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris?! Iris, are you there?!”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott grinned.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think that’ll work right now, Cisco. Aren’t you in lockdown?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re jamming the signal,” Frost accused. “Just like you’re blocking the TARDIS from landing here and helping us. Isn’t this getting a little old for you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, isn’t your whole thing supposed to be museums?” Ralph complained. Elliott turned to him, smiling darkly.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you know you ever left my Museum, Mr. Dibny? Maybe this is all a hallucination, another trick I cooked up after you tried to rescue Barry. Keyword being <em>tried</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, right,” Ralph said softly, then cleared his throat and tried to be more sure of himself. “I think we’d know if we had failed –”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott snapped his fingers, and everything changed in an instant.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Back to the Museum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NATIONAL CITY</p><p> </p><p>THE DEO</p><p> </p><p>THAT DAY</p><p> </p><p>“Your vitals and everything are ship-shape,” Kara said, trying to be as cheerful as possible as she sat next to Barry in one of the DEO med bay rooms. “Are you still forgetting anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know what else there is to forget,” Barry admitted. Kara started counting on her fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris stuck you with a sleeping dart, Orb saved you from death again, we were in the creepy forest outside Central City, Elliott framed you for murder and kidnapping –”</p><p> </p><p>Barry shook his head in disbelief. “How could Iris believe that I was responsible for any of that? We’ve always believed in each other, both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, I think she was just... scared,” Kara said quietly. “Not of you,” she added quickly. “Just of what could happen. What others could make you do. She said something about Bloodwork –”</p><p> </p><p>“When I turned into Dark Flash,” Barry nodded, still a little upset. “Yeah, I remember. But that wasn’t me, he had control of me the entire time, and this felt the same way, like I was just a puppet –”</p><p> </p><p>“Well according to her, you did attack all of Team Flash,” Kara said. “Maybe they were right to stop anything before it happened –”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris knocked me out before even allowing me a chance to speak!” Barry protested. “How is that okay in any way?”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s this I hear about Iris knocking you out?” Alex interrupted, appearing in the doorway. Kara stood up, sighing.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott framed Barry for kidnapping and murder, and Team Flash decided to take action before Barry or I had a chance to explain,” she said. “Apparently supervillains have taken over the Flash before, and they wanted to be prepared.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, well they were a little too prepared, if you ask me,” Barry said, standing up. He grabbed his jacket from the side table, heading out past Alex.</p><p> </p><p>“I – I need some air,” he admitted. “I’ll just be in the hall, I won’t go far. I won’t make myself an easy target for Elliott again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, wait –” Kara said, but it was too late. Barry sped off, lightning following his running steps. Kara sighed, glancing back at Alex.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s been through a lot,” Alex said, taking a seat next to her sister. “Maybe we should let him be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Kara warned. She put her chin in her hands. “I don’t think Barry wants to be reminded of anything in the last few hours any more than I do.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s strange, isn’t it,” Alex said after a moment. “How Elliott keeps – <em>kept</em> – getting the advantage over us. I’ve been thinking about other villains we’ve faced, that Team Flash has, even the Doctor. And it’s almost like he knows what we’re going to do. He’s been following an instruction manual since day one, whether that’s from him or someone else, I don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“An instruction manual,” Kara said thoughtfully. “Barry said that he found dozens of filing cabinets in Elliott’s Museum office, all with files on him and Iris and everybody. It was the only place connected to the outside world, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“What if that office is still around?” Alex asked, meeting Kara’s eyes. “What if it wasn’t part of the Museum at all, he just made us think it was? What if it’s really in our world, and not a pocket dimension?”</p><p> </p><p>“It would make sense that he’s been getting all his information from this one place,” Kara said, glad she and her sister were on the same page about this. Alex nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“If we find his office, we can figure out what he’s planning next, and stop him at the source,” she said. Kara risked a smile for the first time in what felt like days. She rushed out into the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry! We think we know how Elliott is tracking our every move!” She stopped, looking around the empty hall.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry?”</p><p> </p><p>Ignoring Alex’s protests, Kara flew off into the main sector as fast as she could. She stared around at the DEO employees who were hard at work adjusting the mainframe, looking into the databases, and whatever they did on a daily basis. She ran to Brainy, who was frowning intently at a tablet every time it beeped disagreeably.</p><p> </p><p>“Brainy! Brainy, have you seen Barry come this way at all?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” Brainy glanced up, still engrossed in his work. “Oh, Barry Allen? He’s right up there, talking to J’onn.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara looked, unable to stop her sigh of relief when she saw Barry and J’onn talking on the skywalk. She flew up to join them without a second thought, waving awkwardly as she interrupted their conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” she said. “You guys talk about Elliott yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“More or less,” J’onn said, eyeing Barry, who looked out over the rest of the DEO. “We believe some guided Martian meditation may be just the thing to help Barry feel like himself again.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry nodded, drawing a hand across his face. “Any word from Iris or Cisco yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Kara shook her head. “But Alex and I did think of something. That office of Elliott’s that you told us about. We think he might still be using it and the information he has on us in there to track us and anticipate what we might do next.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what do you propose we do, break in?” Barry asked. Kara nodded, determined.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll have Brainy do a thorough scan of any lingering Museum energy traces he can find, whether that’s here or in Blue Valley. We can stop Elliott before his next move, Barry –”</p><p> </p><p>“Supergirl!” Brainy suddenly yelled from the floor below. J’onn, Barry and Kara all looked down at him as Brainy looked up from the tablet in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Supergirl, we have a problem.”</p><p> </p><p>“A bigger problem than Elliott Pax?” Barry asked, trying to be funny. J’onn and Kara both shot him looks.</p><p> </p><p>“Just taking a page out of Ralph’s book,” he muttered. But Brainy’s next words chilled him to the bone.</p><p> </p><p>“We just received an alert for unrecognizable energy traces at 504 Lynwood Avenue.”</p><p> </p><p>“The Museum,” Barry said, clutching the railing for dear life. “How is the Museum back –”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m afraid it never left, Mr. Allen,” Elliott interrupted. “Or rather, you never left it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, don’t!” Kara yelled, but once again Barry had run off before she had a chance to finish her sentence. He stopped in front of Elliott, stumbling backwards as Elliott held up his gleaming silver remote.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t come any closer,” Elliott warned with a chilling smile. “Because you know what’ll happen once I press this button, don’t you, Mr. Allen?”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott,” Barry said, tense. “Elliott, you do not want to do this –"</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not doing anything,” Elliott said, all innocence like the nine-year-old he looked to be. “I think this – the DEO, National City, the forest -- is all in your head, Barry. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry whispered, trying to stay strong. “No, I escaped, we got out –”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you really know for sure?” Elliott grinned. Barry looked around as the DEO started to melt away into nothingness, the bright white Museum walls reforming until they were back in place. Barry tried to run, looking around for any sign of Kara or J’onn or Brainy, something recognizable from the reality he knew to be true –</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real,” he whispered, his voice hollow. “This can’t be real, I just lived the last six months –”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m afraid you fell into a coma after the attack on the Museum, Mr. Allen. You lived through an imaginary time,” Elliott smiled. Suddenly he was standing over Barry, who was lying on his back on the polished marble floor of the museum. Barry sat up in shock, raising his hands as he looked around at the glass exhibit cases, at the exhibits themselves, at the red-robed guards, and at Elliott, who was no longer nine-years-old but an old man again –</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry repeated, his voice hushed as he climbed to his feet. “No! This is just another one of your tricks, Elliott! Why are you doing this to me?!”</p><p> </p><p>He whirled around to face the Curator, his eyes flashing dangerously. Elliott let out a low laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m not just doing this to you,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Look closely at the exhibits surrounding you, Mr. Allen. I believe you’ll find some familiar faces.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry did as he was told, his fear spiking as he looked at each glass case. There were no lions, tigers or bears or woolly mammoths anymore. Each case held each of his friends. He ran forward, grabbing onto the glass wall that separated him and Cisco, dressed up as Vibe, then over to Kara in her Supergirl suit, then to Killer Frost and Ralph and Superman and Alex and Brainy and –</p><p> </p><p>“I’m afraid their rescue mission failed six months ago, Barry,” Elliott said, almost sounding like he was trying to be sympathetic. “I did what I had to do to keep you and all the rest safe from the outside world.”</p><p> </p><p>“Safe!” Barry cried, putting his hands to his head. “This isn’t safety, you kidnapped us, you kidnapped all of us –”</p><p> </p><p>“Kidnapped?” Elliott laughed again. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly he and Barry were standing in his and Iris’ apartment. Barry looked down at his shaking hands, watched as they vibrated with his speedforce energy. He ran to the door, opening it and expecting to run into the hallway. He slammed into a pristine marble wall. Barry stumbled back in shock, turning his anger onto Elliott.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real,” Barry insisted, advancing on the older man. “I don’t know how you did it, but this is not my apartment –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, of course it isn’t,” said a voice. Barry glanced up, and there was Iris emerging from their bedroom. He ran to her, grabbing her up in a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris,” he said. “Iris, what’s going on –”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, honey,” Iris patted his cheek. “The memory loss again? Elliott saved us all from the Doctor and her companions, remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry let go of her, gazing at her in horror. “Iris, what are you talking about –”</p><p> </p><p>“The Bow-Tie Person was the Doctor, Barry,” Iris continued. “She was going to use your speedforce and all our friend’s powers to power the TARDIS after it was trapped in space. She tricked us, remember? She trapped us all here in Elliott’s Museum, tying us to its lifeforce so we can never leave. But Elliott’s working on a solution, aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Elliott said, and Barry turned to see him smiling broadly. “Orb and I recreated your apartment to help with your memory loss, Barry. Don’t you remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry shook his head. “No, I –" He looked around, almost frantic as he searched for any sort of clue. “The – the JSA. Where are Yolanda and Rick and Courtney and Beth –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Iris continued, still using that same soft, concerned voice. “Barry, they – they didn’t make it. The Doctor murdered them in cold blood –”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry insisted, his voice growing in size and power until he was almost yelling, the walls starting to crowd him in on all sides. “No, Iris, Elliott is doing this to us, this is just in my head –"</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Iris said, taking his hands in hers. “I promise you, this is real. Isn’t this real?” She leaned up to kiss him, but Barry pulled away.</p><p> </p><p>“It can’t be, Iris,” he said, desperate. “Iris, please –"</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you remember?” Iris repeated, joining Elliott’s side. They both grinned brightly at him, advancing on him until he was backed up against the wall. Barry fell backward until he was on the floor of the museum again. He scrambled to his feet as his friends unlocked their glass cases in unison, walking out towards him until he was forced to cower and fall to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you remember, Barry?” Everyone asked at once. Barry grabbed his head, sinking down to avoid what he knew had to be impossible.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real,” he whispered, one last-ditch attempt to be convinced. Elliott walked up to him, sitting beside him.</p><p> </p><p>“I truly am sorry you believe me to be the villain here, Mr. Allen,” he said. “But I promise, I am only trying to help you.”</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t – this isn’t real –”</p><p> </p><p>“Shh,” Elliott said gently as Barry shivered, slowly falling unconscious as a green gas descended from the ceiling. “You’ll remember soon enough, I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry closed his eyes, and everything went dark. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Who Protects Whom?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>EARTH-2</p><p> </p><p>BLUE VALLEY, NEVADA</p><p> </p><p>“Court, you’re gonna be late for school!” Pat Dugan yelled up the stairs of the Whitmore household. Courtney swore, hurriedly pulling on her socks and grabbing her backpack and JSA dufflebag that was at least twice the size of her. She thudded down the stairs, swiping a piece of buttered toast from the counter and shoving it in her mouth as she ran to the front door.</p><p> </p><p>“Bye, Pat!” she yelled. “I’m going over to Beth’s after school, so probably won’t be back in time for dinner!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, what’s all the commotion?” Mike yawned as he walked down the stairs, still in his pajamas. He blinked at Courtney, raising his phone to check the time.</p><p> </p><p>“How’re you dressed so fast? It’s not even 6:30.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not even 6:30 – give me that,” Courtney complained, grabbing Mike’s phone before he had a chance to protest. Sure enough, it was only 6:17.</p><p> </p><p>“Pat!” she yelled again, throwing her backpack on the floor. “I thought you said you wouldn’t do this again!”</p><p> </p><p>Her step-father chuckled from the kitchen. “Not my fault you didn’t look at your phone again. Now come sit down and eat breakfast with the rest of us for a change.”</p><p> </p><p>Courtney groaned, but reluctantly went to sit down with the family. Her mom walked down the stairs, already dressed for work.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re up bright and early today, aren’t you?” she asked her daughter, leaning over to give her a hug. “Pat still up to his old tricks?”</p><p> </p><p>“If you mean not letting me get a full night’s sleep by tricking me to get up two hours before school, then yeah,” Courtney muttered. Pat emerged from the kitchen, setting down a platter of pancakes on the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Heard from STAR Labs yet today?” he asked, finally joining them at the table. Courtney shook her head, spearing a couple pancakes for her plate.</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet. But they’re probably busy as usual, I wouldn’t worry about it.”</p><p> </p><p>Her mother and Pat traded glances. “That’s actually why we wanted you to eat with us today, honey.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re in on this too?” Courtney asked, incredulous. Mike grabbed his entire plate as he grabbed his backpack.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’m gonna head to school early, see ya guys later –”</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney,” Pat sighed. “Your mother and I were talking about the JSA’s involvement with the superheroes from Earth Prime, and we’ve decided –”</p><p> </p><p>“Without asking me, as usual –”</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney,” her mother said. “We’re just worried about you, and especially Yolanda and Rick after the business with – oh, what was his name?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Curator,” Courtney mumbled. “But his real name was Elliott Pax –"</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t matter what his name was, what matters is that he overpowered all those superheroes you worked with, plus Yolanda and Rick –”</p><p> </p><p>“He didn’t overpower all of them, just the Flash –”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care how many superheroes this Curator did or didn’t hurt, he kidnapped Yolanda and Rick right out from under those teams’ noses!” Pat protested. He sighed, shaking his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney, I’m just worried about you. I don’t remember a villain like the Curator from the old JSA or anywhere else, and –”</p><p> </p><p>“We know we can’t make you 100% safe all the time, Court,” her mother interrupted. “But – can you promise that you’ll try a little more?”</p><p> </p><p>“You need to be more careful,” Pat finished.</p><p> </p><p>“I am being careful!” Courtney stood up from the table, shoving her chair back. “But Yolanda, Rick, and Beth and I are tired of being treated like kids all the time! Team Flash, Supergirl – they all underestimated us. I thought you were better than this, Pat.”</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney,” Pat rose from his chair, reaching after Courtney as she picked up her bags and started towards the front door. “Courtney!”</p><p> </p><p>“Stop trying to protect me!” Courtney rounded on him. “You can’t, Pat! You can’t, not from the ISA, or the Curator, or anything else –”</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney –”</p><p> </p><p>“Which is why we need to work together,” Courtney continued. “I can’t expect one person to protect me, and neither can the rest of the JSA, or any of the others. But if we all support each other, we can at least try. I can’t promise that I’ll never be in danger again. You know I can’t promise that. But the truth is, neither can you!”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped as the doorbell rang. Pat and her mother frowned.</p><p> </p><p>“Were you expecting anyone?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Courtney said slowly, already opening the door. She jumped back in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“Doctor? Yaz? What happened to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Heya, Courtney,” the Doctor grinned as she and Yaz waved. They were both covered in soot and grime and their hair was sticking up in all directions. “Didn’t have enough time to look presentable before stopping over, sorry –”</p><p> </p><p>“We think Barry and STAR Labs are in trouble again,” Yaz said. “We could really use your help. You and the rest of the JSA.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, hi Mr. Dugan!” the Doctor said cheerily, waving at Courtney’s stepfather as he approached them. “Mind if we come in for a little chat? And – maybe a change of clothes?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Thoughts on Forgiveness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BLUE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL<br/><br/>LATER THAT DAY</p><p> </p><p>“So the Doctor definitely said she was going to pick us up after school,” Yolanda repeated for the fifth time in minutes as she, Courtney, Beth and Rick all hung out on the steps leading up to Blue Valley High. Courtney nodded, her chin in her hands. She glanced over to Yolanda, frowning slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Oh,” Yolanda looked down at what she was tossing back and forth between her hands. “Just a keychain. It was my grandmother’s, she gave it to me before she passed. Said it helped... I don’t know. Forget about things she’d rather forget.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you doing alright?” Courtney asked softly. “You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to. You or Rick –”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m coming,” Rick said. “I’m ready to make Elliott pay for what he did to us.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s nine-years-old, Rick,” Beth said, squinting into her glasses. “You can’t make a nine-year-old pay.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re not in this for revenge,” Courtney added. Rick got to his feet, starting to pace.</p><p> </p><p>“Who knows what he could be doing at STAR Labs right now? We have to stop him, Court –”</p><p> </p><p>“We will! We won’t let anyone else get hurt because of him, or the Museum, or anything else –”</p><p> </p><p>“What about those of us who were already hurt?” Rick turned on her, his face falling. “When do we get – over this, Courtney? My parents, our friends, and now the Museum – and we’re supposed to just forgive Elliott because he’s nine years old again?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I just think we can’t –”</p><p> </p><p>“Go rushing into things?” Rick demanded. “So we’re just supposed to sit and wait around and wait for Elliott to show up and kidnap us again, is that right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Guys,” Beth interrupted. “She’s here.”</p><p> </p><p>The JSA turned to see the TARDIS looking a little worse for wear land on the concrete before their school. The Doctor, now dressed in a new pair of clothes and clean from the explosions, popped her head out to smile at the kids. It drooped off quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“You alright?” she asked gently. Courtney eyed her friends. Yolanda sighed, stuffing her keychain back in her pocket.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just get this over with,” she said, entering the TARDIS. Rick followed after her first, leaving Beth and Courtney to bring up the rear. Courtney hovered just outside, grimacing as she met the Doctor’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Yolanda, Rick – I think they’re scared,” she said quietly. “I don’t know how to help them.”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor swung an arm around Courtney’s shoulders, letting the TARDIS door swing shut behind them.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve already done so much for them, you don’t even know how much you matter to them,” she said softly in return. “I promise, Courtney. You don’t have to fix everything for everyone. You just have to show up.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what’re we dealing with here?” Beth asked from where she stood by the console. “Aliens? I’ve always wanted to meet one. Besides you, Doctor.”</p><p> </p><p>"And the alien who saved Barry's life," Courtney added. "And Supergirl, and Superman, and J'onn J'onzz --"</p><p> </p><p>"A different alien, Courtney!"</p><p> </p><p>“No, it’s definitely Elliott Pax I’m afraid,” the Doctor said, meeting everyone’s dour faces. “He’s put some sort of – forcefield around Central City on Earth Prime, made it so we couldn’t get into STAR Labs.”</p><p> </p><p>“But we got a radio transmission from them,” Yaz said, fiddling with the knobs and wires until an old radio sitting on the TARDIS console crackled to life. “I’m not even sure if they knew it was on, but here’s the replay –"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Iris?! Iris, are you there?!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Cisco’s voice crackled through the transmission. Yolanda sucked in a breath as the next voice flooded through.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I don’t think that’ll work right now, Cisco. Aren’t you in lockdown?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“So he is back,” Rick mumbled. Courtney made a face, still wishing she could do more to help.</p><p> </p><p><em>“You’re jamming the signal,” </em>Frost’s voice jumped through next.<em> “Just like you’re blocking the TARDIS from landing here and helping us. Isn’t this getting a little old for you?”</em></p><p> </p><p><em>“Yeah, isn’t your whole thing supposed to be museums?”</em> Ralph complained.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s got a point,” Beth muttered.</p><p> </p><p><em>“How do you know you ever left my Museum, Mr. Dibny? Maybe this is all a hallucination, another trick I cooked up after you tried to rescue Barry. Keyword being </em>tried<em>.”</em></p><p> </p><p><em>“Yeah, right,”</em> Ralph said softly, then cleared his throat. Yolanda and Rick exchanged glances, each one trying not to betray how much that possibility scared them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I think we’d know if we had failed –”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The radio fell silent. Courtney looked between the Doctor and Yaz, growing increasingly agitated.</p><p> </p><p>“What, that’s it? What happened to them?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to find out,” the Doctor promised. She looked at Rick and Yolanda directly.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t promise we won’t come face to face with Elliott again, and I can’t promise we won’t outwit him – at first. No one has to stay, I swear. But STAR Labs – mainly Iris – asked specifically for the JSA. She trusts you all, and me and Yaz do too. If they’re all in trouble – and that includes Barry – we could really use your help. But not if you don’t want to be here.”</p><p> </p><p>Yolanda took a deep breath.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m coming. It’s what we do. We’re going to help everyone again, no matter what.”</p><p> </p><p>Rick nodded. “It’s like you said, Doctor. They need us.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re in too,” Courtney added as Beth nodded. “If that was ever in question.”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor nodded, grabbing the lever on the console.</p><p> </p><p>“Then I suggest you all get changed into your suits. We’re in for a bumpy ride.”</p><p> </p><p>She slammed the lever down, and the TARDIS flew off into space, headed directly for Earth Prime, and whatever awaited them there.</p><p> </p><p>Courtney only hoped they wouldn’t be too late.</p><p> </p><p>***</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Deja-Vu</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>STAR LABS</p><p> </p><p>Smoking and charred, the TARDIS careened through the atmosphere, finally jerking to a stop at the entrance to STAR Labs. The doors creaked as the Doctor opened them. She exclaimed in surprise, going ahead to push open the doors they had parked directly in front of. She turned back, waving at the JSA and Yaz still waiting inside the blue box.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on!” she called. “Tardis landed us right at the front doors for a reason, didn’t she. Beth, what does Chuck say?”</p><p> </p><p>Beth gave everyone two thumbs up. “Chuck gives the all-clear, Doc.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright,” the Doctor said, pushing the doors open. “Everyone go slow, we don’t know what might be –”</p><p> </p><p>Rick flipped his hourglass over and raced ahead, bounding down the halls. The Doctor shook her head but raced after him. Courtney shared a look with Yaz as the rest of the JSA went ahead, but followed her friends through the wide, circular halls.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s too quiet,” Yaz said softly. “I’m not liking this at all.”</p><p> </p><p>Courtney wrinkled her nose. “Do you smell that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Doctor!” Yelled Yolanda from the main computer room. “Come quick!”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor raced past Courtney, Beth, and Yaz, pulling out her sonic screwdriver as she went. She stopped next to Yolanda at the entrance to the room, treading gingerly as she saw the bodies on the floor and the thick green gas that still hung in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“Masks on, everyone,” she commanded quietly, pulling hers out of a pocket in her jacket as everyone else did the same. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I recognize this,” said Yaz. “Isn’t it the same gas Elliott used when he trapped Barry in the exhibit?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are they dead?!” Yolanda cried, running over to Cisco and checking for a pulse. Rick ran to Ralph, and Courtney and Beth checked Killer Frost. Beth shook her head, standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“Chuck says it’s like they’re all in a coma.”</p><p> </p><p>“We need to get them back to the TARDIS, figure out what’s wrong, stat,” the Doctor said. “Quickly now, everyone— and don’t forget to breathe through your nose.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think we’ll find the same at the DEO?” Rick wondered out loud. “If STAR Labs was so easily taken over, then who’s to say… “</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t spend time worrying about that,” Courtney shook her head as she and Beth took up Frost. “We’ll know when we get there, right?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Ultimatums</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NATIONAL CITY</p><p> </p><p>THE DEO</p><p> </p><p>A FEW MINUTES LATER</p><p> </p><p>The TARDIS materialized in the DEO’s main room, the creak of the door echoing loudly in the all-consuming silence. Beth stuck her head out first, using Chuck to scan for anything out of the ordinary. But a moment later, she didn’t have to.</p><p> </p><p>“Doctor?” she called, stepping outside of the TARDIS and onto the gleaming wide floor. “Doctor, this really doesn’t look good...”</p><p> </p><p>“Not good at all,” the Doctor agreed, sweeping out of the box and scanning the area for any lingering energy traces. All the DEO employees around them were asleep where they were, either at their computers and desks or fallen out of their chairs onto the floor. At least, Courtney hoped they were asleep as she gingerly tread around them to get a closer look.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the same gas in the air, isn’t it,” she said, and the Doctor nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“See if you can find anyone –” she instructed, before cutting herself off. The Doctor ran over to another sleeping form, quickly turning over Barry so he was lying on his back. His forehead was covered in sweat and he kept muttering something so quiet that the Doctor could barely make it out when she listened closer.</p><p> </p><p>“Why is he the only one that’s kinda awake?” Yolanda asked, already dreading the answer. The Doctor met her eyes, grim.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott.”</p><p> </p><p>“I found Supergirl and J’onn!” Courtney yelled. She had flown up to the catwalk on her staff only to nearly trip over Kara’s cape. “Both asleep.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do we do, Doc?” Rick asked. “We can’t take everyone from the DEO into the TARDIS, can we?”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor sighed, tapping her sonic as it beeped annoyingly.</p><p> </p><p>“We have to try.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you figure out what he’s saying?” Beth asked, kneeling next to the Doctor as she scanned Barry with Chuck’s help. The Doctor shook her head, pocketing her sonic before standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to get as many people as we can out of here, and into the TARDIS,” she instructed. “She’ll make room for them. In the meantime, Yaz, go with Courtney and see if you can get any sort of response from Kara and J’onn. Rick, Yolanda, you two check the perimeter for any sign of Elliott or his tricks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Who knows, they might just end up like everyone else here!”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor whirled around. Standing there and casually tossing his silver remote back and forth between his hands, was Elliott.</p><p> </p><p>“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?” he asked with a nasty little grin.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t need to figure anything out, what I need is to save these people,” hissed the Doctor. But Elliott’s eyes brightened.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that right?” he teased. “You’re not the little bit curious how I recovered so many things from my Museum? How I was able to recreate the gas? With a special twist this time around, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do we wake them up?” the Doctor asked, her eyes growing dark and hard. “You must have an antidote somewhere!”</p><p> </p><p>“No antidote this time, I’m afraid,” Elliott shook his head. “But I do have a deadline. I told STAR Labs something about a surprise a day if they didn’t find Mr. Allen in time – and that applies to him waking up as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the surprise?” Courtney asked. Elliott merely shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll find out soon enough, I think.”</p><p> </p><p>“Get everyone into the TARDIS,” the Doctor commanded to her friends, taking a step closer to Elliott. “I’ll be right there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Doctor,” Yaz protested, knowing full well the Doctor hardly meant it when she said things like that. But the Doctor shook her head, staying right where she was.</p><p> </p><p>“Get everyone to safety, Yaz,” she repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t take on Elliott alone,” Courtney argued. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“Who said anything about taking him on?”</p><p> </p><p>“Come on,” Yaz said quietly. “Let’s get the last of the employees into the TARDIS, Court.”</p><p> </p><p>“So all this – just for some childish revenge plot?” the Doctor said, glaring at Elliott. “I’d have thought you’d want to live a full life with your parents. Isn’t that why you brought them back in the first place?”</p><p> </p><p>“Plans change,” Elliott snarled. “I found out the real reason behind my parent’s deaths, Doctor. And I want to make sure it never happens to anyone else.”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry doesn’t kill,” the Doctor reminded him. “Not unless someone else has control of the Flash, or it’s on accident. Whatever happened, Elliott, it wasn’t his fault.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course it wasn’t,” Elliott sneered. “It was Iris’. You’re a time traveler, Doctor. Shouldn’t you know this by now?”</p><p> </p><p>“So why all the games?” the Doctor shot back. “Why these ultimatums, these deadlines, all of it? Just to mess with our heads, is that it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why else?” Elliott asked. “Why can’t I have a little fun along the way, Doctor?”</p><p> </p><p>He raised the silver remote with a smile, and the Doctor immediately realized her mistake. She backed up towards the TARDIS, glaring fiercely at the little kid.</p><p> </p><p>“We will stop you,” she said, which only made Elliot smile even broader. “You won’t be able to play any more of your twisted games after today.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll see,” Elliot said and pressed the button. The Doctor raced inside the TARDIS, slamming the doors shut behind her. Yaz, Courtney, Beth, Yolanda, and Rick all looked at her as she stopped for just a moment, rage and fire burning in her eyes. She stalked up to the console, slamming down the lever and catapulting them off into the dark reaches of space. Then she took a deep breath and turned around to look at her friends.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, fam,” she said, flipping her sonic up in the air and catching it. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with here.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Bananas & Dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>THE TARDIS</p><p> </p><p>TWO HOURS LATER</p><p> </p><p>“He’s not waking up. None of them are,” Beth said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice as she sat next to Barry on one of the beds in the medbay of the TARDIS. “Chuck’s trying to find any information he can, but... it’s like whatever gas Elliott used doesn’t exist.”</p><p> </p><p>“Or it won’t exist for a while,” Yaz offered. She watched Barry for a moment, then looked down the row at the rest of the sleeping superheroes and DEO employees. All were utterly comatose. All except one.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real,” muttered Barry, still caught in a fever and tossing and turning. “This isn’t real –”</p><p> </p><p>“What isn’t?” Beth asked as gently as possible, but really her heart was hammering with fear. She glanced up at Yaz.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think he’s right? Do you think whatever Elliott did – that we never really left the Museum? Like he said on the radio.”</p><p> </p><p>Yaz shook her head. She got up and sat next to Beth, then reached over and pinched her arm. Hard.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Beth exclaimed, glaring at Yaz. “What was that for?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just making sure you’re real,” Yaz winked playfully. Beth rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, I get it. But how do we get through to the rest of them?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor found a solution!” Courtney yelled as she burst into the medbay. Rick and Yolanda followed behind, carrying something that looked like a cross between a satellite dish and a lettuce strainer. “We’re going to use this to get inside Barry’s head, and hopefully wake everyone up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would just going inside Barry’s head wake everyone else up?” Beth frowned.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s the only one who’s saying something,” Yolanda said with a shrug. Courtney nodded, awkwardly raising her hand.</p><p> </p><p>“And I already volunteered to go inside, so nobody else has to fight about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rick asked tightly. “I could easily come with you –”</p><p> </p><p>“Any of you could, I know,” Courtney said, looking at all her friends equally. “But I think I need to do this alone. I’m the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place. If it hadn’t been for me pushing all of you to go into the Museum after-hours –”</p><p> </p><p>“Technically it was me,” Beth said sheepishly. “I’m the one who saw the poster for the Superhero Exhibit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s not play the blame game here, kids,” the Doctor said as she walked into the room, then immediately held up her hands in surrender. “Sorry – fellow teens.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not a teen, Doc,” Courtney laughed. The Doctor winked and patted the Barry-O-Tron 3.0.</p><p> </p><p>“As soon as you wear this and get hooked into Barry’s brain, you won’t be able to see or hear us,” she said. Courtney slowly slid the lettuce strainer over her head, sitting down on the bed. “But trust me, Courtney. We will be here for you, every step of the way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do I get a code word?” Courtney asked quickly. “In case things go... wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>“How about ‘banana?’” Beth asked. Yolanda shot her a confused look, and she shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“First word I thought of.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, banana it is,” Courtney said, tightening the lettuce strainer. She took a deep breath and put her hand on Barry’s.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m ready.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re right here with you,” Yolanda promised, taking Courtney’s hand in her own. Courtney smiled tightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I got this,” she said, trying to be encouraging. “I’ll just be in and out. Grab Barry, get him to wake up, easy-peasy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck, Courtney,” the Doctor said reassuringly. “Now close your eyes.”</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Courtney's Surprise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Courtney opened her eyes again, she was standing in front of an apartment door. She frowned, taking a confused look around at her surroundings. The TARDIS medbay was nowhere to be found. Instead, she stood in the hallway of an apartment complex, one very large window overlooking Central City. Courtney went to glance outside, maybe see if there was some sort of clue she could find but stopped upon hearing voices coming from within the apartment she was standing in front of. So she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.</p><p> </p><p>Iris opened it wide, a smile jumping to her face as she realized who was there.</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney! Oh, we’re so glad you came – come on in! We’re just about to eat breakfast.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mrs. West-Allen?” Courtney asked, confused. Iris tsked at her, welcoming her in.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh please, it’s Iris! I’m not that old, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>Courtney half-smiled, and stepped inside to the West-Allens’ apartment. Light flooded the space from the great windows onto the dining table, living room, and kitchen. Courtney turned to see Barry at the counters, dashing back and forth with lightning following his footsteps as he worked to prepare breakfast. He flashed a smile to Courtney, running up to greet her.</p><p> </p><p>“You made it! Pat said you wouldn’t have any time between your tours, but it’s great that you were able to come to visit. You haven’t seen our apartment before, have you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Er, no,” Courtney said, still wildly confused. “What tours?”</p><p> </p><p>“For college, silly!” said Iris, and suddenly she was right there with an arm around Barry’s waist. “You think we could let you visit CCU on an empty stomach? Sit down! I hope you like pancakes!”</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” Courtney whispered, trying to sneak a look around at the apartment as she went to sit down. No sign of Elliott or anything that remotely resembled a museum or the Museum for that matter. She watched as Barry finished cooking the pancakes and other breakfast food at lightning speed – literally, because he apparently still had his speed. Courtney tried to smile back at Iris as she sat next to her, beaming.</p><p> </p><p>“So, college,” Iris said excitedly. “Fun stuff, right? Have you decided on a major yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh –” Courtney shook her head to try and clear it. “Communications. Mrs. West-Allen, have you –”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, please!”</p><p> </p><p>“Right, Iris,” Courtney bit her lip. “Um – have you noticed anything weird about your apartment lately?”</p><p> </p><p>“Weird?” Iris laughed. “Honey, you’ll have to be more specific. I mean – does any of this look normal to you?”</p><p> </p><p>She gestured over to Barry, still moving at an impossible speed to make their breakfast. He caught their glances and slowed down enough to wink.</p><p> </p><p>“Almost done!” he laughed. Courtney blinked, and suddenly the scene shifted to a darkened version of the apartment: overturned tables and chairs, moss and cracks and a pervading sense of doom covering it all. Courtney stood up as fast as she could at the appearance of a different Barry altogether: sitting on the floor, lifting his tear-streaked face to look at her.</p><p> </p><p>“You have to help me,” he whispered, and Courtney felt a chill go through her bones. “I don’t know how to get out. None of this is real – this isn’t real –”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott did this to you, Mr. Allen,” Courtney said, her voice loud in the empty apartment. “This is all taking place in your head – you have to fight it –"</p><p> </p><p>“How?” Barry asked, choking back a quiet sob. Courtney walked over to him, slowly taking his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re safe, out in the real world, I promise,” she said. “We all are. The Doctor came – picked you all up in the TARDIS where Elliott can’t get any of us. But you have to wake up. Otherwise –”</p><p> </p><p>“Otherwise what?” Barry asked, but Courtney blinked. Suddenly she was standing in the rosy glow of the well-lit apartment again, kneeling in front of an umbrella stand. She sprang to her feet, looking behind her at Iris and Barry, who were waiting by the table with platters of pancakes.</p><p> </p><p>“Courtney,” Iris asked, still smiling. “What are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“I –” she glanced back at the umbrella stand, but it was just that. She walked over to the table, slowly sitting down as Barry served her breakfast, racing around the table just as fast as always.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” she said, spearing her pancake with a fork and feeling an increasing sense of deja-vu. The three ate quietly for a moment or two, Courtney looking around as much as she could for anything out of the ordinary. She finally pushed her plate away, standing up. Iris and Barry looked up at her, startled as she placed her hands on the table and looked Barry in the eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real, Mr. Allen,” Courtney said, and Barry turned ashen. Iris looked between them, also standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t listen to her, Barry,” Iris said quietly. Courtney pushed back her chair, walking backward as Iris griped for the knife next to her plate. “You know she’s lying.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am not lying,” Courtney said, her eyes flashing. “Mr. Allen, you have to listen to me. You’re asleep in the TARDIS. You’re sick, and you’re going to die if you don’t wake up right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wake up from what?” Barry smiled, bemused. He glanced between Courtney and Iris, remaining sitting where he was. “Guys –”</p><p> </p><p>“Your apartment isn’t real,” Courtney said desperately, knocking over the umbrella stand as she backed away from Iris. She glanced over, and the umbrella stand was gone. Courtney looked back at Barry, pointing to the empty space.</p><p> </p><p>“See?! How could that just disappear?”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris,” Barry said suddenly, standing up. “What are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“This is exactly what Elliott said, Bar,” Iris said. “No one will believe that we deserve to be happy here, that we don’t deserve to make a life of our own. We need to get rid of her, Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” Barry put a hand to his head. “Wait, Iris – you told me Courtney and the JSA died –”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re all alive,” Courtney said, her voice going up a notch as Iris walked closer. “Me, Beth, Rick, and Yolanda – we all escaped the Museum, remember? The woolly mammoth saved you, Mr. Allen –”</p><p> </p><p>“But you said –” Barry’s voice grew faint. “But Iris, you said the Doctor killed them –”</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor saved everyone!” Courtney said. She ducked away from Iris, grabbing a couch pillow to protect herself. It disappeared from her hands. “Elliott’s trapped you in your head, Mr. Allen. None of this is real, even Iris –”</p><p> </p><p>Barry ran in front of Iris, searching her eyes as she held up the knife, her eyes filled with rage. His eyes widened in shock as he came to the full realization.</p><p> </p><p>“You aren’t Iris,” he said, and she started to crumble before his eyes. Barry took a slow look around the apartment, finally landing on Courtney and her terrified expression.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right,” he said quietly, meeting her eyes. The golden hue of the perfect apartment began to crumble and wither away all around them until they were left in the darkened remains. “This isn’t real.”</p><p> </p><p>“None of this is, either,” Courtney said, her voice ringing out. “You have to wake up, Mr. Allen, please.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry shook his head. “There has to be a way out of here, a door or something –”</p><p> </p><p>He ran to the fading and wrecked apartment door, opening it only to be greeted by a blank marble wall. Barry reached out, pressing his fingers against the hard surface. He glanced back at Courtney.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott trapped us all in the Museum again,” he said, but Courtney shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Barry. This is your own mind –”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would my mind look like the Museum?” Barry asked quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott used some sort of poisonous gas on you, and the rest of the DEO and STAR Labs,” Courtney said, stepping forward. “He put everyone else into a coma except for you. And we think –”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s all connected,” Barry said. “If I don’t wake up –”</p><p> </p><p>“Then no one else will either,” Courtney said. Her words hung in the air for a brief moment, weighed down by the silence around them.</p><p> </p><p>“The Doctor said you have more experience with going into other people’s minds,” Courtney said after a minute. “What did you do to wake up there?”</p><p> </p><p>“I –” Barry glanced back at the door. “There was always an exit that we had to find, some way out that looked like a door or a portal, or –”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t you phase through?” Courtney asked. “If it’s really your head – you should be able to do anything you want, shouldn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry swallowed, nodding. “I can try,” he said and ran towards the wall again. He raised a hand, watching as it started to vibrate impossibly fast. He thrust it forward, jumping back in pain as he just jabbed the wall. He looked up as a loud boom echoed through the walls, frightening them both.</p><p> </p><p>“You have to try again,” Courtney begged. “Please, Mr. Allen, I –” She looked down at her hands as she started to flicker in and out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>“Something’s here,” she said. “Something’s trying to force me out, I can’t hang on much longer. I think you’re on your own –”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” Barry insisted, running over as she disappeared from view. “Wait, Courtney, tell the Doctor –”</p><p> </p><p>Another boom shook the apartment, making both Barry and Courtney fall to the ground. Courtney looked up in horror as the walls and floor began to crumble all around them.</p><p> </p><p>“Please wake up!” she shouted at Barry, who only stared in horror. “Whatever Elliott used, it’s coming for you, and everyone else. You have to wake up now!”</p><p> </p><p>Courtney slowly faded entirely from view, and Barry was left grasping at the empty air as the apartment disappeared. Only the door to the hallway remained, a click loud in the silence as it unlocked and swung open. Barry looked over before getting to his feet and running to the entrance. He hovered on the threshold, looking out at a long, dark hallway that stretched before him. Was this the way out?</p><p> </p><p>Barry took a deep breath and ran forward. There was only one way to find out.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Spark, Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Barry ran until he couldn’t see the apartment door behind him anymore, ran until his lightning was the only light in the impenetrable darkness, but still, there was no exit to be seen. Barry skidded to a stop, finally seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. He took one last glance behind him and ran towards the light. A large door with metal spokes and glowing fog escaping from underneath it greeted him, the only clue to what his mind created. He stretched out a hand and turned the levers, the door slowly coming undone with a great suctioning sound. Barry looked inside as it opened, white fog billowing out and enveloping everything. A cool breeze swept past him as he stepped inside, chilling him to the bone. Why had his mind created a freezer?</p><p> </p><p>“I thought this was supposed to be a Museum,” he muttered to himself, pausing just to look at the door again. But somehow it had closed behind him. Barry walked further in, dark shadows from covered boxes emerging from the depths. He stepped up to one, grabbing at the tarp and pulling it away to see what was inside. Barry stumbled back in shock as he came face to face with Cisco, frozen in a block of ice dressed as Vibe. He raced around the rest of the boxes, pulling away all the tarps until each and everyone was uncovered. He stared around at the frozen bodies of all his friends for an interminable moment, then raced to phase through to get Cisco out. Barry only chipped away some of the ice, his hands getting stuck whenever he tried to reach through. He yelled in frustration, the sound echoing through the echoing walls. He stood up, putting his hands to his head as he paced, frantically trying to think of a solution, of any way to help his friends. He didn’t even hear the sharp clacking sound approaching him until it was too late.</p><p> </p><p>“Having trouble?” Elliott asked innocently. Barry whirled around, lightning flashing in his eyes as he ran up to the old man and pressed him against the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me how to get out of here,” Barry argued. Elliott tsked, shrugging.</p><p> </p><p>“Only you can do that I’m afraid, Mr. Allen. I’m merely a hallucination, just like everything else you see.”</p><p> </p><p>“Because of what you did to me!” Barry yelled back. “I’m tired of your games, Elliott. When I get out of here, I’m going to make sure you never do this ever again –”</p><p> </p><p>“Instead of empty threats, maybe you should ask yourself why your mind keeps coming back to the Museum,” Elliott said, raising his silver remote. He pressed a button and Barry put his hands to his ears, trying to block out the high-pitched screaming. He sank to his knees, meeting Elliott’s rage-filled eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you still here, Barry?” Elliott asked triumphantly. “This is your head, after all. We should be anywhere you want.”</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real,” Barry whispered, mustering up the strength to try and stand again. “This isn’t –”</p><p> </p><p>He ran forward to grab Elliott, but only caught air. Elliott’s laughter echoed around the room as Barry turned, only catching glimpses as the man remained frustratingly out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me out!” he yelled, and suddenly Elliott was in front of him, nine-years-old again.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not me who has to let you do anything,” Elliott grinned. “It’s you, Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me?” Barry whispered, shaking his head. “How –"</p><p> </p><p>“Let go,” Cisco said suddenly, sitting up from the floor. Ice shattered and broke all over the room as the rest of his friends sat up from their blocks of ice, looking directly at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Let go, Barry,” everyone intoned. “Seek release.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll never be free of me and my Museum, Mr. Allen,” Elliott smiled. “Why not give up?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry put out a shaking hand as he turned away to try and think. “No, there has to be another way –”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll always be afraid, Barry,” J’onn said.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll never escape Elliott or his Museum,” Kara said. “Why not give in?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re broken, Barry,” Ralph said. “You’ve been through too much. Why not end it all?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry whispered. “No, stop –”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris would understand, Barry,” Caitlin said softly. “Just let go. She’ll understand, we swear.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry shook his head at her words, something snapping into startling clarity and focus. He looked over at Elliott and the blank faces of his friends, a deep conviction settling inside his mind as it all fell away.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Barry said, his voice strong and clear. “Iris would never give up on me. And I’m not giving up on her, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“BARRY!”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to see a window of light appear from the dark, Iris stretching out her hand for him to take. Barry ran to her, their hands barely touching before a lightning spark jumped between them.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Just A Box</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Barry? Barry, are you there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you hear us, Mr. Allen?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry opened his eyes, bolting up from the bed. He gasped for air as the room slowly solidified into reality around him. Faces swam into view, forming themselves into Courtney and Beth and Yolanda and Rick and Yaz and finally the Doctor, perched at the end of his bed. She blinked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver from her coat to scan him.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you feel, Barry?” she asked gently. Barry looked around, swallowing hard and slowly regaining his breath. He looked over as everyone else started to wake up in the long line of beds: Kara, J’onn, Alex, Cisco, Frost, Ralph, and a whole lot of other people he didn’t recognize. He glanced back at the Doctor, blinking hard.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this real –” Barry barely finished his sentence before Beth reached over and pinched his arm. He looked up at her, offended. “Hey!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, Yaz did it to me,” she said sheepishly. “But it hurt, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it hurt,” Barry said ruefully, rubbing his arm. “Is that supposed to prove that this is all real?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, and look,” Courtney chimed in. She held out her hand, and her staff flew to land in her outstretched grip. “See? Doesn’t disappear.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Barry said, taking another look around. “Wait, I – thought we were in the TARDIS? Isn’t it just a box?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just a box?” the Doctor asked, actually offended this time. “Barry Allen, are you saying you’ve never been inside my TARDIS before?”</p><p> </p><p>“Never,” Barry said, and the Doctor crossed her arms.</p><p> </p><p>“Never?! Well – it’s a good thing we can easily remedy that, isn’t that right fam?”</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s Iris?” Barry asked quickly. “Not that I wouldn’t like to explore the rest of the TARDIS, but Elliott’s still out there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you remember anything?” Yolanda asked. “We found everybody in STAR Labs and the DEO comatose. Elliott used this green gas on you all to make everyone fall asleep.”</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone except Iris,” Yaz said. “She wasn’t there, Barry.”</p><p> </p><p>“She went to find Mr. and Mrs. Pax,” Caitlin said from where she sat up from her bed. “I tried to stop her, but she said she had to get to the bottom of this. She was going to stop Elliott once and for all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we have to get her back,” Barry said, running out of bed so fast that the blankets were blown back by the wind. Rick glanced at the Doctor.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait – does he know we’re in space?”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor’s eyes widened, and she ran to the TARDIS control room. “Barry!”</p><p> </p><p>The doors flapped wildly from the force of being pushed open by lightning. The Doctor sprinted forward, teetering just on the edge of the TARDIS as she looked out into the darkness of space in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry!” she yelled. “BARRY ALLEN!”</p><p> </p><p>“Right here,” said a muffled voice, and the Doctor glanced down. Hanging on the edge of the TARDIS for dear life was Barry. He looked up.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re not staying in space forever, are we?”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor shook her head, already exasperated. “Of course not. Now come on, get up. Let's find Iris.”</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Best Served Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NATIONAL CITY<br/><br/>THE DEO</p><p>TWO HOURS LATER</p><p> </p><p>Soon, everyone was safe, awake, and sound back at the DEO. The rest of the employees unlucky enough to be caught up in Elliott’s hive mind experiment were encouraged to take the rest of the day off, go home with their families, and rest. Meanwhile, all teams plotted out their next moves. Kara led the JSA around the DEO in a tour while they gaped at all the things Supergirl had to help her out on a daily basis.</p><p> </p><p>“When are we getting one of these?” Yolanda asked Courtney, a little pointed. Courtney shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“We have a headquarters, it’s called my house,” she said. Rick rolled his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You mean your dad’s summer house, right? Seriously, when are we going to deck it out in all of this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would we when we have Chuck?” Beth asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Because Chuck isn’t super-powered or made of lasers, Beth,” Yolanda said, pointing to the various weapons on display.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, this way you guys,” Kara called from the end of the hall. “And we’re really only able to afford all this because we’re owned by the government. We used to be owned by Lex Luthor, but that’s another story.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, who’s Lex Luthor?” Courtney asked. Kara tightened her mouth into a thin line.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t want to know.”</p><p> </p><p>The STAR Labs team had taken up residence at the computers, utilizing Brainy’s mind and all the available tech to do a thorough scan of the city and surrounding areas. Soon enough, Cisco and Brainy had cameras trained on the Pax house, looking as lonely and deserted as ever out in the middle of the countryside.</p><p> </p><p>“See?” Cisco said, gesturing to the screen as he sat back. “Completely empty. No heat scans detected any movement from the Paxes or otherwise. Wherever Iris went, she’s not there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you reached her yet?” Caitlin directed this to Barry, who looked like he was about to crush his phone with his bare hands.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m trying,” he said, his frustration leaking out. “The emergency button isn’t working either, and I –”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to find her,” Caitlin said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what about Elliott?” he asked, shaking his head. “This whole time – it’s been one nightmare right after the other. What do we do if Elliott’s trapped her the same way he trapped me, with a fake version of me and her in our apartment until –”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott doesn’t like repetition, though does he?” Yaz asked. “Whatever he’s planning, it’ll be something new.”</p><p> </p><p>“Our algorithm will alert us as soon we find any trace of Iris or Elliott,” Brainy interjected. “It is utterly foolproof and failproof.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll be too late,” Barry shook his head. “Every time Elliott’s shown up, he’s found us, and not the other way around. We can’t let the DEO or STAR Labs fall under attack again. We need a real plan other than waiting around for Elliott to tell us what he’s going to do.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s gonna go after Iris,” Cisco muttered, standing up. “Barry, don’t –”</p><p> </p><p>The doors to the DEO swung back and forth in the wind as Barry ran out of the complex. Ralph entered a moment after, two coffees he’d been holding now spilled all over him and his jacket. He looked at everyone, raising his hands in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“Really?!” he asked. “We all wake up from comas and the first thing Barry has to do is ruin the coffee order?!”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll go after him in the TARDIS,” Yaz said, sharing a glance with the Doctor. “We still have the Barry-O-Tron 3.0, it’ll help us lock onto his signal –”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, or you could just tap into our equipment,” Cisco pointed out, gesturing to the little moving red dot on his computer screen. “Barry caught a train, he’s headed out of National City right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would he catch a train when he could just run?” Caitlin asked, frowning. “Do you have audio?”</p><p> </p><p>Cisco shook his head. “No Flash suit, no comms. I can try his phone –”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean <em>this</em> phone?” Ralph asked, gingerly picking it up from the floor. Cisco swore and put his head in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Why does everything have to be so difficult?”</p><p> </p><p>Ralph jumped as the phone in his hands started to buzz. Everyone looked at him as he answered it, quickly putting it on speaker. He cleared his throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh – hello?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hello, Mr. Dibny,” said a sinister child’s voice on the other end of the line. “I trust you have me on speaker so everyone in the DEO can hear me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Algorithm alert,” said the computer. “Elliott Pax has been found. Alert – Elliott Pax has been –”</p><p> </p><p>“Too late,” Elliott laughed. “And by the time you trace this call, I’m afraid it will be too late as well. I must admit, I was impressed by how quickly Mr. Allen overcame my poison – but this poison is one he will not be able to outrun. I’ve made sure of that.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you want this time, Elliott?” the Doctor asked. “Because every surprise you’ve given us, we have overcome it. How are you so sure this time will be different?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because this time I’ve made Mr. Allen an offer he can’t refuse,” Elliott said slyly. “A rather pressing ultimatum, if I do say so myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris,” Cisco whispered and turned back to the computer in a frenzy of typing.</p><p> </p><p>“What have you done to Iris?” the Doctor asked. Elliott’s laugh echoed over the phone, sounding much closer than it should have been.</p><p> </p><p>“My parents invited her to family dinner night, that’s all. I would’ve invited the rest of you, but – you know how it is. Two’s company enough.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a weird little kid, you know that right?” Ralph said. “What does family dinner night have to do with anything? Unless...”</p><p> </p><p>Ralph looked around in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t think Barry and Iris are the main courses, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ralph, give me that,” the Doctor reached forward and grabbed the phone out of his hands. “Elliott Pax, you have one minute to tell us what exactly you’re doing, and why. This isn’t just about revenge anymore, you and I both know that. You’ve had someone else helping you all along, someone who’s been supplying you with future tech and information. Tell us who’s behind all your big ideas, and I promise neither you or your parents will get hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t it obvious, Doctor?” Elliott asked. “It’s you.”</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The Dinner Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>THE PAX HOUSE</p><p> </p><p>UNDISCLOSED LOCATION</p><p> </p><p>Iris had made it out to visit the Paxes earlier that morning, and she was still confused all these hours later. Nothing she’d uncovered so far was helpful in learning more about Elliott or his plans for her and Barry in the slightest. Mr. and Mrs. Pax seemed the jovial, lively couple Iris remembered them as from fourth grade, before they died. They were charming and sincere, and had even invited Iris to stay for dinner and the night. There was nothing unusual about them, which put Iris extremely on edge. They didn’t even remember anything about Elliott’s Museum, or their only son being a murderer, or the fact that he was even gone.</p><p> </p><p>Why would Elliott have wiped their minds if he still wanted to keep them around? Iris had wondered over and over again half a dozen times today, and she still couldn’t figure it out. She set her purse down on the bed in the spare bedroom, sinking down alongside it. After more than what felt like over a hundred searches of this room, she still hadn’t turned up anything. The Paxes seemed infuriatingly pleasant, which was made even more infuriating by how worried Iris felt herself. Not about her, but Barry, and everyone else back at the lab.</p><p> </p><p>Had she made the right choice to go along with everyone’s plan to subdue Barry before he had the chance to hurt any of them? She still trusted him, of course she did. She just didn’t trust anyone else, particularly Elliott. There was no way he was really dead – the little kid had probably faked his own death a million times by now. Iris had uncovered all the clues she could here. It was time to go back to STAR Labs, check up on Barry at the DEO, and report her findings. They were all stronger together, it went without saying. Any one person who was part of Team Flash, or the JSA, or even the Doctor’s fam would be able to see some piece of the puzzle she was missing. Iris stood up, taking a deep breath. Maybe the Paxes wouldn’t see her if she slipped out the front door quietly?</p><p> </p><p>She turned to look at the nightstand, frowning in confusion. Hadn’t she just put her phone down right there? Iris jumped as the doorbell rang from the front of the house. She pulled open the bedroom door and glanced out into the hall as voices floated over to her from the door. Iris froze at one voice in particular.</p><p> </p><p>“Is she here?” Elliott asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Never left,” Mrs. Pax answered. Iris stepped out into the hall, keeping to the shadows as she made her way to the kitchen. “She’s been waiting for dinner the whole time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Elliott said silkily. “I trust everything is prepared?”</p><p> </p><p>“As you requested,” Mr. Pax said. “Everything for our darling little boy.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what about our other guest?” Mrs. Pax asked innocently. Elliott let out a low laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t worry about him. I’m sure he’ll show up right on time.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you tell my husband?” Iris demanded, bursting out from the hall. She stalked towards the three Paxes, eyes cold as she stared down Elliott and his wicked little grin. “You gave him some sort of decision, didn’t you? Rescue me, or everyone else dies? Barry won’t let that happen, you and I both know that –”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, but Mrs. West-Allen,” Elliott said in fake surprise. “I never told Barry anything like that. I simply said he was invited to dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>“If what?” Iris pushed. “Tell me what you told him, Elliott –”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not about what I told Barry,” Elliott shrugged. “It’s about what I’m about to tell you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which is what?” Iris demanded.</p><p> </p><p>“Both of you can walk out of here scot-free,” Elliott said, pausing for dramatic effect. “If you can stop your husband from his next move.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about –”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris?”</p><p> </p><p>Iris turned. Barry stood in the entrance to the dining room, lightning fading around his steps as he skidded to a stop. He rushed to her, desperately looking her over.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, are you okay?! What have you been doing –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, Barry, I’m fine,” Iris said, slowly pulling away from him. “I’m fine, I promise. Are you?”</p><p> </p><p>She looked up, searching his eyes for any sign of fear or terror or any other emotion that Elliott usually caused. She stepped back, getting all three. Tentatively, she put a hand to his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m alright,” she tried to reassure him. “Nothing’s happened. Nothing will happen, because we’re leaving right now –”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, I can’t,” Barry whispered. “Elliott’s remote – it’s stopping me from leaving.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?” Iris asked, blinking. “Barry, you just got here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Only because he said he was going to kill you!” Barry exclaimed. Iris put up her hands, shaking her head.</p><p> </p><p>“No. No, we have to leave, right now, take us out of here now, Barry –”</p><p> </p><p>“Won’t you stay for dinner?” Mrs. Pax said loudly, smiling broadly as she held up a wide casserole dish. “I cooked it in the bath.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re just so happy you could make it,” Mr. Pax chimed in with a smile as big as his wife’s. “You’ll stay, won’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Iris looked back at Elliott, who smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“You tricked me,” she hissed, letting go of Barry and walking over to look Elliott in the eyes. “You tricked me, I had no idea he was going to show up –”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s all sit down for dinner, shall we?” Elliott winked. He raised his hand, and Barry’s eyes grew wide.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he whispered, and Iris looked at him, deeply concerned. “No, this isn’t real, is it –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” Iris walked back over to him. “What do you mean this isn’t real, I’m real –”</p><p> </p><p>“Pinch me!” Barry said, looking her right in the eyes. “Prove it, Iris –”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott snapped his fingers. Suddenly, they were all shoved into the dining room chairs, seated at the table in front of a huge dinner spread complete with casserole dishes, turkey, stuffing and more. Mrs. Pax beamed as she stood up, the carving knife in hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Eat up, dears!” she said loudly. Iris looked across the table at Barry, panic starting to set in. She leaned forward.</p><p> </p><p>“You think we’re in a dream?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry reached out and pinched her arm. Iris jerked back, offended.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the only way to tell,” Barry whispered. He leaned back as Mrs. Pax passed the plates in front of him, dropping some casserole onto his plate. Mr. Pax did the same to Iris. They watched in silence as the Paxes both sat down again, and then Iris leaned forward and kicked Barry in the shins. He winced, frowning.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t a dream,” Iris confirmed. “It’s Elliott doing this in real time, right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“How can he be manipulating reality like that?!” Barry hissed back.</p><p> </p><p>“With this, of course,” Elliott interrupted, appearing at the front of the table with a smile plastered across his face. In his hands he held up a blue cylinder with lightning crackling inside of it. Barry pushed back his chair and stood up from the table as fast as he could.</p><p> </p><p>“You are not using that on either of us,” he said, his eyes flashing dangerously.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t even know what this is,” Elliott taunted. “But since you’re already up, Mr. Allen, you might as well go grab the punch. Go on.”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott snapped his fingers, and Barry disappeared. Iris jumped, the table clattering. Mr. and Mrs. Pax looked on with twin bemused smiles, seemingly oblivious.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you doing this?” Iris asked. Elliott took Barry’s seat, tossing the lightning rod back and forth between his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Simple, Iris. I’ve been siphoning off your husband’s energy into this every time he’s run away, supercharging it as much as I could before activating the dream energy I needed from all of your friends. Luckily, the Doctor and the JSA gave me just what I needed by waking Barry up when they did – the exact amount of dream energy I needed to manipulate reality whenever I want.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what?” Iris argued, trying to keep her voice cool. “You haven’t used that to make yourself ruler of the world, haven’t used that to turn our lives upside down. What are you planning?”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott smiled, and snapped his fingers. Immediately Barry reappeared back in the dining room, looking around dazed and confused. He held a platter of punch glasses in his hands, at which Mr. and Mrs. Pax ooh’d and aah’d. Elliott waved his hand, popping over to sit in another chair.</p><p> </p><p>“Go ahead and serve, Barry,” he directed, and Barry did so, lurching forward. He placed the first glass in front of Iris, who stared down at the murky red liquid. Mr. and Mrs. Pax started to drink theirs almost immediately, but Iris waited until Barry was seated again before picking up her glass. Barry met her eyes, and shook his head. A chill ran through Iris. She glanced over to where Elliott had been sitting, but he was gone. Mrs. Pax began to cough, then Mr. Pax. They both started choking, and Iris stood up so fast she knocked her chair over.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?!” she yelled at Barry, who sat there, frozen. “You know the Heimlich, don’t you?!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s too late for that,” Elliott said. He reappeared at the head of the table, the Reality Rod sharp and bright in his hands. “Make any move, either of you, and I’ll just replay what already happened. You’ll be trapped in an endless loop.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would you kill your own parents?” Barry asked hoarsely. Elliott smiled darkly.</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t the one who served the punch, was I?”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to Iris, his smile never leaving his face.</p><p> </p><p>“You see, throughout all of this, I really thought I was working towards killing you and all your friends. I thought that would make me happy. But so many other supervillains have felt so – so empty, after the fact, haven’t they? So I decided to go one step further.”</p><p> </p><p>He laced his hands together and sat forward, looking for all the world like the old man he used to be.</p><p> </p><p>“I destroyed you, Barry,” he said triumphantly. “I took away everything that made you you, and I turned it all around. You’ll never be able to step outside of this house again without being recognized as a kidnapper, a murder suspect, a deranged man. You’ll never be able to live your life as yourself. With my luck, you’ll go to jail much sooner than I anticipated.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve done jail, and I escaped,” Barry said. “Your plan – you’ve just been leeching off of all the other villains, haven’t you? Taking ideas from each one. Why wouldn’t yours fail if theirs all failed too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because they didn’t do them all at once,” Elliott smiled, and gestured to the still bodies of his parents.</p><p> </p><p>“Poisoning, kidnapping, trapping you until you can barely tell what’s real and what isn’t – I’ve done it all at the same time, haven’t I? You’re not finding a way out of this, Barry. And neither is the Flash.”</p><p> </p><p>“Elliott,” Iris said softly, standing up. “Elliott, you didn’t have to do this. Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you – both of you – killed my parents,” Eliott said coldly. “I don’t mean now. I mean the first time before I rescued them.”</p><p> </p><p>Barry shook his head. “Elliott, we were ten years old, how could we have –”</p><p> </p><p>“I saw you,” Elliott sneered. “Not when you were younger, but as you are now. You came out of a wormhole, and you were there at the crash.”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you know you saw us?” Iris asked. Elliott shot her a dark look.</p><p> </p><p>“You introduced yourselves.”</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Turning Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Iris,” Barry whispered, and Iris caught his eye. She nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Now.”</p><p> </p><p>They both moved at the same time, Barry diving for Elliott and wrestling the silver remote and the Reality Rod from his hands. Iris checked Mr. and Mrs. Pax for a pulse – still faint, but there. She ran from the room, grabbing her purse from the spare bedroom and her phone from beside the door. Iris dialed the Doctor’s number, running back as fast as she could. She froze in the entrance, staring at the scene before her.</p><p> </p><p>Barry held the Reality Rod in his hands, almost looking like he was in a trance as he looked at it. Iris approached him slowly, her eyes turning to steel.</p><p> </p><p>“Barry,” she said loudly. “Barry, where’s Elliott?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry glanced up at her, his gaze unfocused and unclear. He blinked, then gestured loosely behind him. Iris looked, and there was Elliott laying on the ground. Unmoving.</p><p> </p><p>None of the Paxes were moving.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you do?” Iris asked quietly. Barry met her eyes, and for the first time, Iris felt afraid of her husband.</p><p> </p><p>“What I had to do.”</p><p> </p><p>Iris shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she said and grabbed onto the Reality Rod. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the lightning and the blue light until she couldn’t see anything else. Around her, the world shifted and turned backward until they were all back a few minutes ago, all sitting around the dining table.</p><p> </p><p>Iris opened her eyes. She was standing up, looking at Barry in horror. Mr. and Mrs. Pax were collapsed on the ground, breathing out their lasts.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?!” she yelled at Barry, who sat there, frozen. “You know the Heimlich, don’t you?!”</p><p> </p><p>Barry sprang up from his chair, running to save both of the Paxes in record time. Golden lightning flashed around the room, and soon Mr. and Mrs. Pax were sitting up, eternally grateful.</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s Elliott?” Mrs. Pax asked, holding a hand to her throat. Barry looked at Iris, desperate.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris, what do we do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Already covered,” Iris said. She took a deep breath and hit the emergency STAR Labs app on her phone. A great wheezing and creaking groan echoed from outside the house’s walls. Iris helped Barry stand the Paxes up, herding them out the front door and onto the lawn where a blue police box waited for them. The Doctor opened the door, relief flashing across her face.</p><p> </p><p>“You did it,” she breathed, rushing up to help them all inside. Only Barry looked confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Did what?” he asked. Iris put a hand on his back, gently pushing him inside before her.</p><p> </p><p>“We saved you, Barry,” she smiled. He smiled back, leaned in for a kiss, and then disappeared within the TARDIS. Iris left her hand outstretched, the feeling of Barry’s hand on hers lingering for just a moment before she turned to face the Doctor.</p><p> </p><p>“You altered time,” the Doctor said heavily. Iris held out the Reality Rod. The Doctor made no move to take it from her.</p><p> </p><p>“It was the only way,” Iris started, hating the way her words turned to ash in her mouth. How many times had she and all the others berated Barry for changing the timeline, for fixing things at first but really making them worse? She shook her head, tightening her grip around the Rod.</p><p> </p><p>“I only went back a few minutes,” she said, meeting the Doctor’s eyes. “I saved the Paxes, I saved Barry, I stopped him from really killing this time – what would you have done?”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor stayed silent. She glanced behind her to the Pax house, then back to Iris.</p><p> </p><p>“I would’ve done the same,” she admitted. The Doctor walked past Iris into the TARDIS, hovering on the edge for just a moment. She turned back, facing the other woman.</p><p> </p><p>“There will be consequences, Iris,” she said, and Iris closed her eyes. She nodded tightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she whispered. “I know.”</p><p> </p><p>The Doctor disappeared inside the TARDIS. Iris took one last look around her surroundings and then did the same. The TARDIS doors creaked shut.</p><p> </p><p>No one noticed the wormhole forming right where Iris had been standing.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Time Enough</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading, everyone! hope you enjoy this last bit &gt;:)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>***</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, fam!” the Doctor clapped her hands together, looking around at the assembled persons. “Wow, there’s a lot of you. What do you say we drop everyone off in all their respective locations, and call this a done day, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m all for going home,” Barry said first, daring to smile. Iris walked up to him, and he put his arm around her, smiling at her for real.</p><p> </p><p>“I could do with a good night’s sleep,” Iris answered, trying to smile back the best she could.</p><p> </p><p>“West-Allen apartment it is,” the Doctor proclaimed, smashing the lever down on the TARDIS console. They began to move through space and time, and Barry sank into a chair, putting his face in his hands. Iris sat next to him, putting a reassuring hand on his back.</p><p> </p><p>“You okay?” she asked softly. Barry lifted his head, nodding. He met her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think this is it? For Elliott, I mean. That he’s just... gone.”</p><p> </p><p>“I –”</p><p> </p><p>“Guys,” Cisco yelled from where he was standing over by the doors. “Guys, what is this?”</p><p> </p><p>Barry stood up, his eyes growing wide at the appearance of a slowly growing black and blue wormhole. The Doctor raced forward, sonicing the apparition as her eyes turned grim. She turned around, not even bothering to check the results.</p><p> </p><p>“Iris,” she said softly. Barry looked between her and his wife, growing increasingly confused.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean, Iris –”</p><p> </p><p>“Barry, watch out!” Iris screamed, but it was too late. Elliott Pax emerged from the wormhole, his eyes alight with murderous rage. Barry cried out as Elliott stabbed him through the stomach with another Reality Rod, blue lightning crackling and writhing all the way through the wound. Barry fell to the ground, putting a hand to his stomach. Iris ran over, grabbing his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she whispered. “No, stay with me, Barry, I’m here –”</p><p> </p><p>“You haven’t told him yet, have you?” Elliott sneered, and Barry met Iris’ eyes. “How you changed time, the very thing you’ve been telling your husband not to do for years and years, all so you could save him – well look at what you did, Iris! You haven’t saved anyone, have you?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Iris,” Barry gasped. “What did you do?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine,” Iris said, her voice strained. “It’s going to be alright, Barry, stay with me –”</p><p> </p><p>“Time has a way of happening in the end, doesn’t it?” Elliott grinned. “You can’t stop me forever, Iris. And you can’t stop time, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Leave us alone!” Yolanda shouted, and suddenly she was right there, shoving Elliott back into the wormhole. “We’ve had enough of this, of all of this! Just leave us alone!”</p><p> </p><p>Elliott grabbed ahold of the TARDIS floor, gritting his teeth as the wormhole sucked him back into the darkness. He made one last desperate attempt, grabbing onto Barry’s ankle so that they were both pulled back. Barry looked up at Iris.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me go,” he whispered. She shook her head and grabbed his hand so tightly she thought she might never lose him again.</p><p> </p><p>“Never,” she whispered back.</p><p> </p><p>Elliott let go of the TARDIS floor.</p><p> </p><p>Barry and Iris fell back into the wormhole.</p><p> </p><p>It closed with a deafening snap, and all was silent.</p>
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